BITS is a hit with IT solutions and services
By Carol Hayes
Despite the downturn, IT entrepreneur Gavin Dixon is predicting growth at his firm, following a partnership deal with a web development company.
Dixon is the founder and managing director of Kilkennybased BITS (Business IT Solutions), which provides IT solutions and services to businesses.
It has formed an alliance with T2, a Carlow company which designs websites and provides web services.
‘‘Given the current economic situation, it makes sense for both firms to work together,” said Dixon, who is targeting business in the south-east and further afield. ‘‘This partnership will combine our talents and allow each of us to concentrate on key skill areas.”
Dixon set up BITS in 2001 and his customers include local businesses and government agencies. The business has five staff, based in Hebron Business Park in Kilkenny, but he expects to hire more staff in the coming months following the deal. It involves BITS taking office space at T2’s base in Carlow while maintaining its Kilkenny headquarters.
Dixon grew up in Aughrim in Wicklow, and studied electronic systems at the Dublin Institute of Technology in Kevin Street, specialising in computer networking. After college, he went to work for computer chip maker Intel in Leixlip, Co Kildare, as a technical trainer.
He worked for Intel for three years, including a period at the company’s plant in Arizona for training. He then went to work for Dun Laoghaire Institute of Art, Design & Technology as a network administrator. ‘‘Working for the institute was a great opportunity – believe me, if you want a network tested, students will push it to the max,” said Dixon.
After a spell in Australia, he returned to Ireland and worked as IT manager for an insurance group before setting up BITS.
‘‘I’ve always wanted to work for myself and wanted to really get into the SME market,” said Dixon. ‘‘When I started BITS, broadband was only really becoming available to clients and it was great to be involved with those businesses. This really helped to get our name into the SME market – word-of mouth was, and still is, a huge part of where new clients come from,” said Dixon. He started out as a one-man band but secured a €50,000 loan to fund an expansion, reaching a high of six employees and turnover of almost €1 million in 2007.
As the downturn hit, he had to scale back BITS. ‘‘We have seen big reductions over the last 12 to 18 months on hardware and software investment,” said Dixon, ‘‘but, at the same time, there has been an increase in the service and maintenance contract side of our business.”
Dixon said he would like to see more government support for small businesses, including incentives for employers.
‘‘SMEs account for a huge amount of the employment in this county and the government has to try to help them,” he said. ‘‘We’re only hearing about incentives for companies that export, but there’s a lot more that could be done for non-exporting SMEs.”
