13.10.08
Data protection company expands with SWIG support (and saves Parish Council records)

A company that specialises in secure data protection and retrieval is expanding with the support of Objective One investment via SWIG (South West Investment Group).

Forward ITC was set up in October 2005 when Rojer and Wendy Isaacson moved from Kent to west Cornwall. The couple heard about Objective One support via SWIG. SWIG provides loans to small and medium sized businesses in the region which have viable plans but need to raise more than is possible from the banks and other traditional sources for start-up or growth. When a loan is repaid, SWIG re-invests it in the local economy by supporting other local businesses.

Forward ITC used a £4,302 SWIG loan to buy essential items of IT hardware and software and to house the servers in a fireproof data centre. This meant that Forward ITC could offer a comprehensive and secure data back-up service to clients. To aid this expansion the company moved from a spare room in the Isaacon’s home in St Agnes to new office premises at Mount Hawke in 2007.

This expansion has already paid off for St Agnes Parish Council, which lost essential records following an arson attack. But the Council had wisely decided to use the services of Forward ITC.

Sue Herman, Clerk to St Agnes Parish Council, explained: “The Council have long been aware of the possibility of losing data as the result of a computer crash, so we decided to prevent the situation arising by asking Forward ITC to provide a backup solution.

“Our decision paid almost instant dividends, when all of our equipment was severely damaged in an arson attack some two months later.  With their help, we had our data on a loan laptop next morning which meant we suffered the minimum possible disruption to parish procedures.”

Rojer has a background in telecommunications and handling secure data and Wendy has a background in finance and administration so the pair have a wealth of experience to run different aspects of Forward ITC.

Rojer said: “We found a niche in the market which no one else specialises in down here. This niche - data back up - requires trust and confidentiality. I used to be assistant manager of the Whitehall telephone exchange so have security clearance and as we get to know businesses in Cornwall we are more or less doubling our turnover annually.”

John Peters, SWIG spokesperson said: “Rojer and Wendy clearly had an excellent skill set for this business and presented a very good case for support. As a new venture, they needed additional finance to get off the ground which made them ideal candidates for SWIG.”

Recently the company’s website – www.forward-itc.co.uk – has been re-launched and Forward ITC also achieved ISO 9001 accreditation. Roger and Wendy are now aiming for accreditation specialising in security.

“We have also introduced software that customers can download if they are not in Cornwall,” continued Rojer. “We also offer back up, monitoring and so on and 24 hour service in Cornwall.”

For further information please contact Clare Morgan, Media Relations Manager for the Objective One Partnership Office, on tel: 01872 223439 / 07973 813647 or email: cmorgan@cornwall.gov.uk. Contact Forward ITC on tel: 01872 552875/ or visit www.forward-itc.co.uk and SWIG is available by visiting www.southwestinvestmentgroup.co.uk or tel: 01872 223883.

The Objective One Programme for Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly has invested in the South West Investment Group to support the development of businesses in Cornwall.

Editor's notes:

Clare Morgan
Media Relations Manager
The Partnership Office
Castle House
Pydar Street
Truro TR1 2UD
Mobile: 07973 813647
Telephone: 01872 223439

cmorgan@cornwall.gov.uk

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