Shaping Cloud shapes up for growth
A CLOUD computing specialist is on track to more than triple revenues this year to £1m on the back of investments in new people and product launches.
Shaping Cloud, founded in 2010 by experienced IT professional Carlos Oliveira and is based on Bengal Street in Manchester’s Northern Quarter.
It specialises in working with public and private sector organisations to develop cloud-based IT applications and infrastructure to improve technology performance and efficiency, while reducing costs.
It is expecting growth to be driven by new contract wins and also from its fledgling US business – it opened a sales office in Weston, Conneticut, earlier this year.
Mr Oliveira who has previously worked for the likes of Accenture, Merrill Lynch and UBS is an alumni of the Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses mentoring and developing programme in the North West.
Shaping Cloud secured a six-figure funding package earlier this year from HSBC in Manchester in a deal led by commercial manager Jon Higginson. The funding supported the recruitment of key staff included a project manager, a quality assurance manager and an office manager, bringing total employees to eight.
Mr Oliveira said: “We are growing as a result of becoming a more mature business and bringing in commercial expertise.
“We have a new chairman, who has helped with our US launch, which is an exciting opportunity for us.”
“We forecast significant sales growth both from the UK and US this year. We have launched some exciting new products and are working on some equally exciting projects with clients in the public sector.
“Cloud-based applications and infrastructure are becoming commonplace in the private sector, and the public sector has some way to catch-up, but we are working with some forward-thinking and innovative organisations that see the benefits of this approach.”
Jason Trigg, HSBC Manchester area commercial director, added: “Shaping Cloud has ambitious growth plans but needed to make sure it had the skills and experience to enable that growth. This funding package has supported the company to grow its team and we look forward to working with the company as it reaches the next stage of its development.”
