We recently caught up with Nigel Rowe, Executive Chairman of Line Management Group (LMG). The UK firm was founded in 1986 and its roots are in cabling services. Today cabling still accounts for 40% of its £25.3m revenues and significant customers include banks based in the City. It also provides services around IP technology.
When we met with Rowe, we were particularly interested to hear about the firm’s relatively new LMG SmartSpace solution (4% of revenues). With office space at a premium – particularly in the City – companies are looking for ways to bring down property costs. However, one of the initial hurdles facilities managers face is understanding precisely what their office space requirements are. LMG SmartSpace uses a blend of data from room entry cards, phone systems, end user computer logins and CCTV to understand how employees are using their work space. For example, are certain rooms under-used and could more staff be moved to other premises? This information can be presented in a dashboard to establish where space savings could be made.
This information can also be used by IT directors to help inform investment decisions relating to end user device requirements or remote working options, for example. It is a neat solution to a common problem – a fact that is reflected in a revenue growth rate of 15% for the solution last year. Into this year there are additional opportunities for growth. For example, LMG is considering an as-a-service version of SmartSpace.
Last year, LMG made notable product investments and recruited additional sales staff to its London HQ. This coming year will be about bedding those in and shifting the focus to streamlining costs to improve the bottom line.