Tim Goddard: The importance of people behind the tech at Corbel

Tim Goddard first got to know Corbel as a customer, and as he says himself, “I liked them so much, I joined the business.” He’s here to tell us about Corbel’s dedication to putting a human face on their technical services…

He’s a Technical Director eager to cut through the jargon.

“I could tell you Corbel are a delivery focussed and customer aware managed service provider,” says Tim. “Which we are, of course. But forget that a second. First and foremost, we’re a team of passionate experts, with actual bricks and mortar facilities. When you engage with Corbel, we take a real interest in your business. That means getting an understanding of how you work and what is important to you, as people. We’ll then concentrate on keeping you safe whilst getting value from your technology investments. Those are our core propositions, and they’re unrivalled in East Anglia.”

For Tim, it’s about people.

“I love our diverse portfolio of clients. We get so much from engaging fully with the people we work with, asking those stupid questions about each other’s businesses first, and going from there. It becomes collaboration at its best. That’s how great things are born.”

Corbel aren’t just about shiny new technology.

“Too often technology is seen as a black art. Projects take forever, with no guaranteed success. We’ve all read stories about money thrown down the drains on aborted tech roll outs. In my view, that comes from a lack of planning, and failing to correctly identify the problem a business needs solving.

At Corbel, we won’t flog you a box of hardware or a licence key you don’t really need. We take the time to know the why and how of what your business requires. Then, when we really understand you, we’ll give our considered proposal.

Actually, lots of businesses are surprised to learn they don’t necessarily need to invest in more software. Often it’s a case of looking at what’s already there and deploying it to its full potential.”

Suffolk holds a special place in Tim’s heart.

Tim moved to Suffolk after his father left the Royal Navy. “I was educated in Felixstowe. I met my wife there. I love the seaside, and spent a lot of time in the pubs and on the beach in my formative years. And wherever I’ve lived with my own family, nothing beats the simple pleasure of eating a bag of chips whilst skimming stones.

I’d worked in an international environment previously, which is large and faceless. So it’s refreshing doing business in Suffolk, where it’s all about the people. It’s ironic, but Corbel now reminds me of working in transportation in the early 80s, before computerisation. You’d have to take documents from office to office, and you really got to know people, and build strong relationships.

That’s how we get things done at Corbel. Engaging face to face, sharing ideas, finding out how things are run. It’s a richer experience. That’s what’s great about working in Suffolk for me.

We’ve got our eye on growing our borders too, of course. With our resilient internet backbone and compelling set of hosting propositions, we’re eager to lead the way in showing the country that Suffolk businesses can get out there. We’ve invested a lot of time and money in equipping our data centre, and there’s a wider audience for what we offer.”

Employing and developing Suffolk talent

Tim has good advice for other Suffolk SMEs. “Be aware of what you have, your staff are your greatest asset.” And that means enabling their learning process and rewarding hard work with responsibility. “I started out as a spotty 16-year old, and whenever I’ve had the chance since, I’ve helped to craft apprentice schemes with various organisations. I think it’s vital to have pathways for young people outside the traditional further education model.”

With Corbel’s big plans to expand their offering, Tim’s attitude looks set to create many more jobs for the next generation of Suffolk residents in the future.

Visit www.corbel.co.uk for more info.