An expanding South Lakeland software and website development company has created five new full-time jobs.
SYPO (System Potential) has also increased its annual turnover by around 30 per cent.
And managing director Alan Jewitt said he would not rule out taking on more highly-skilled staff in the future as the company has a healthy order book.
SYPO, based at Meadowbank Business Park, Shap Road, Kendal, is a team of web and technical specialists, which helps companies design, create, manage and promote their online business.
It sets up bespoke e-commerce websites, where customers can order and pay for products.
“We also develop and integrate software systems so that, for example, a company’s website talks to its suppliers’ website to obtain product information and stock levels, links to its distributor’s site and financial information from orders is imported into the company’s accounting systems,” said Alan, 63.
The need for SYPO to double its web development team from five to 10 has largely come from developing online platforms for hosting virtual sales exhibition events.
“Many companies are used to attending expos where they set up a stand, people look around them and they are able to talk to them face-to-face,” said Alan.
“Those in-person events all stopped last year due to the COVID-19 pandemic so we are now creating virtual versions, where people attend online. We replicate elements of a live expo, such as product
information downloads, feedback forms, quizzes and games and there could be a live text or video chat available.
“We are about to start work on a big project to be delivered in mid-2021 and we are quoting for work which runs throughout the year, so we expect business to continue to grow.”
The company was founded in 1991 and became a web development business in 2004. Alan said the start of its major growth period was in 2019 when marketing specialist Neil Corrigan, of Creative Lakes Ltd at Kendal, who had worked with SYPO for many years, encouraged him to connect with more potential clients by attending expos.
This led to fruitful collaborations with other marketing agencies, involving work for some national companies based in the North West.
Alan stressed the importance of working closely with local firms to promote his business and recruit new staff.
SYPO had used Keswick-based MacArthur Recruitment to find its new web developers.
“It’s great that five highly-skilled web developers have chosen to work for a Cumbrian-based company,” said Alan.
“We have some members of our team working remotely all over the country and a core of locally-based staff.”
In a revealing sign of the times, Alan said he had only met the five new web developers via Zoom, rather than face-to-face.
“The thing I most enjoy about business are the ‘tah-dah’ moments when SYPO is able to present a solution to a client’s problem,” said Alan, whose IT career began as a computer programmer in 1979. He also enjoyed helping his clients to boost their turnover and profits.
He said the company was happy to take over existing systems and complete or develop them.
Alan added that the most important business values were honesty and transparency. “We will always tell a customer what we can or can’t do,” he said.
