Issue 4 2021

Issue 4 2021 33 This is because it is very important to Strategic Blue that its employees embrace both working collaboratively and continuously improving their skill set. Not only is this encouraged, but collaboration is made into a regular practice, and the company actively encourages employee development by providing training courses to advance the skills of each team member. During the last year, as part of the continual efforts by Strategic Blue to look after employee wellbeing, the company has hosted online social events, mental health training and team-building exercises for all employees to ensure that each member of the team is still able to engage with each other, while safely working remotely. As companies across the country and the globe have discovered, working remotely poses many problems, not only to employee wellbeing but to the ease at which business can be carried out. For a company looking to continue scaling, the reduction in the ways of getting in touch (such as the closure of public events, an inability to meet potential customers face to face or to confer in offices) has been challenging. Customer outreach has been hindered more than ever, and new, efficient methods have had to be developed. On the flip side, for Strategic Blue, as other companies have become disparate entities, cloud services have become ever more important. In addition, companies have had to become savvier to survive, and exploring cost-saving avenues such as Strategic Blue’s services is one of the sure-fire ways to reduce overhead costs. The FinOps specialists have seen more inbound interest and referrals as a result of people knowing of organisations facing cost challenges and making recommendations. Even through all of this hardship, Strategic Blue has been able to put funding towards COVID-19 research initiatives which have not only helped with challenges presented to society by the pandemic but has helped with employee wellbeing, knowing that they, as a company, are doing their part. Strategic Blue plans to continue optimising supply chains in the global cloud computing market, creating value for all participants. The company seeks to help more people get the best value for their cloud usage while being able to procure it in a way that suits them. The team is currently expanding with an office opening in the US to help their customers there more locally. Within five years, this is to be matched with global operations, reaching beyond the UK, the US and EMEA. Company: Strategic Blue Contact: Hannah Dempsey Website: strategic-blue.com