A big thank you to the Cornwall and Isles of Scilly Growth Hub for sharing our good news story

A Cornish software development company has accelerated its growth and secured several significant contracts throughout the last year.

Truro-based Affinity Digital has won three large contracts over the last 12 months thanks to the business’s expertise, and a quick response to changing work patterns brought in by the national lockdowns.

The company, which specialises in enterprise-level software development, started a project with the Cabinet Office at the beginning of lockdown in 2020 and has since won a bid to build, maintain and keep secure the website for the G7 Summit taking place in Cornwall this June. These will take place alongside an additional long-term London-based contract which was confirmed in March.

Sales Director Jonathan Duval said: “Working remotely has allowed Affinity Digital to be judged based on our people and the quality of our work, not on our location or an expensive office. Cornwall can feel quite distant from the action but with remote working and more people feeling comfortable meeting and getting work done online, we’ve been able to secure the new contracts without the need to meet anyone in person.

“Where a company is based in the UK is no longer important. Our experience over the pandemic has been that if we can deliver work to our usual high standard, our clients are happier than ever, wherever or however our team members might be working.”

In the lead up to the pandemic, Affinity Digital was considering expanding its office space. Plans have since been revised, with the central Truro office now playing a different role as a place to host meetings and creative workshop sessions, whilst the majority of the work will be completed remotely.

Over the last year, the company has hired six new employees, three of whom are located in Cornwall. Future growth plans will still look to recruit local talent first; however, thanks to an increased acceptance of remote working, the company now has the flexibility to draw on talent from across the UK.

Jonathan continued: “We usually had some contingent of remote workers in the form of outsourced specialists from around the UK so the concept was not new to us. Now with everyone on the same page we’ve managed to adapt all of our processes to better suit this way of working, which has resulted in increased efficiency.

“We still work an eight hour day, but with no commute or distractions around the office, productivity has increased significantly.

“The changes kick-started by the Covid restrictions and winning these new contracts have contributed to the transformational success of our business, and we’re excited to see what the future holds.”

Having previously worked on large projects with clients like The Timpson Group and Education Scotland, Affinity Digital has been pushing the limits of the open-source software it specialises in, with the company’s experience and innovation in the space seeing them become a highly valued practitioner to their clients.

The company has also recently undergone some alterations in their processes and methodologies, and how they communicate this to prospective clients. The need for an update was recognised by the Cornwall and Isles of Scilly Growth Hub, which has helped Affinity Digital secure funding to make the necessary changes.

Growth Hub business connector Chris Phillips said: “Affinity Digital has been doing some really exciting things recently and it’s great to see Cornish companies working outside the sphere of the South West.

“They were already working with some great clients, but we noticed that they weren’t doing much to shout about their achievements. Setting them up with the Access to Growth fund has helped the company bolster their communications and continue their growth.”

Commenting on the support from the Growth Hub, Jonathan said: “They were really useful in recognising a need within us and servicing it through a grant. Having an outside perspective on the business has helped Affinity Digital see where we can continue to improve.”

More information on the Growth Hub is available at ciosgrowthhub.com.