As we start out 2016, we look back on what was a very successful and positive last year for Datapac. A huge thank you to all of our customers, partners and staff for making 2015 special and we look forward to continued success this year.

Recognition from global technology leaders

We started the year with a bang, after becoming the first HP Platinum Partner for Printing and Computing in Ireland. This is the highest level of accreditation offered by the global technology leader and it was given in recognition of our deep understanding of the full HP product suite.

This was only the beginning in terms of recognition from the leading vendors we partner with. EMC Ireland awarded Datapac 2015 acquisition partner of the year on the back of growing its enterprise storage division by 220% year-on-year, which included 15 significant new customer wins in 2014.

We were also delighted to achieve Elite Partner Status with Datto, a global leader in business continuity solutions with more than five million customers and 8,000 partners worldwide. Datapac was the first Irish company to achieve this in recognition of its high growth backup and disaster recovery business in Ireland.

The awards didn’t stop there. We secured Irish Partner of the year for the third year running with Sophos, global leader in security solutions that protect against complex threats and data loss. In just one year, Datapac drove an increase of 79% in sales of Sophos solutions. We also hosted a seminar with Sophos entitled Redefining IT Security for Your Business, where we examined the latest trends in cybercrime and emphasized the need for organisations to have an integrated IT security infrastructure.

Exciting and landmark projects

Datapac has been involved in a number of exciting projects throughout the year. We’ve been working with Barretstown, a specially-designed camp that provides therapeutic recreation programmes for children with serious illnesses and their families, to transform its ICT infrastructure.

Thanks to the solution implemented the broadband speeds at the camp have increased tenfold across the 500-acre site in Kildare. The upgraded network has enabled more flexible and improved ways of working for 80 full and part-time staff, as well as 1,200 volunteers. Datapac is managing the entire physical and cloud infrastructure for Barretstown, freeing up staff to focus on improving the services they can deliver for children and their families.

We’re also working with the Wexford Chamber of Commerce and Wexford County Council on a landmark project to deliver state-of-the-art facilities to the Chamber’s offices. Datapac is incorporating the latest technology and communications infrastructure, and assisting with the installation of a new boardroom and training facility, the Datapac Business Resource Centre.

Embracing the data explosion

At Datapac, we recognise the importance of research and in June we commissioned a survey in association with TechPro magazine looking at how Irish organisations are dealing with the explosion of data.

There were some striking statistics, such as half of organisations not being prepared for a cyber-attack; 20% store data in an unsecure location; one in four never test their ability to recover data and the amount of data stored by Irish organisations increased by 42% in just a year.

While the research showed many businesses have realised the importance of being able to recover data when lost, findings highlighted that many others are lagging behind and using unsafe, outdated practices. Datapac would always advise organisations to consider all elements of their data holistically and ensure storage, backup and recovery work in tandem, and that organisations speak to an expert like Datapac to find the right solutions to do this.

To cap off a great year, we once again partnered with the Solas Centre to support the 2015 South East Run for Life, a 10-mile run or 5-mile walk to support those affected by cancer including family members and carers. Around 2,000 people took part this year.

Datapac renews partnership with Solas Centre

Looking ahead

We hope to continue this level of excitement, growth and global recognition in 2016 and are confident we can do this. Once again, a big thank you to everyone who made 2015 so great for Datapac. We hope that your business is enjoying similar growth and success, and we’d like to wish each and every one of you all the best in the months ahead.

Check out our 2016 predictions, to see what will be the big trends and things to watch out for in Irish tech in 2016!