THE Belfast-based Barclay Group is investing £2 million in its landline division as part of a major growth strategy which will create 35 jobs.
An additional 20-seater call centre will also launch later this year at Barclay’s existing headquarters at Grove House in Donegall Pass.
The north’s largest and fastest-growing indigenous telecommunications business (it comprises Barclay Communications, Barclay Digital Services and WorkPal) has already introduced new systems including cutting-edge customer relationship management software (CRM).
Barclay Group has also undergone a full rebrand of all companies including new website and logos to reflect its growth over the past 25 years.
Other technological investments in the pipeline will include a £500,000 cash injection into new landline software specifically designed for businesses that don’t need the complexity or cost of a fully cloud hosted telephone system.
Meanwhile new human resources software and a new billing system will transform in-house administrative operations.
Among the roles created as part of the investment are engineering positions, support staff, direct sales, telesales and business development managers.
All 35 new positions will be filled by the end of this year, while more jobs will be added in coming months.
In 2020 Barclay surpassed all its targets, and its upcoming financial results are expected to show turnover up by a third on 2019, and the business now handles more than 100,000 business connections (both landline and mobile).
Last year also saw Barclay Communications successfully tender for a £3m contract with University of Cambridge, undergoing rigorous procedures and competing against some of the world’s biggest communication providers.
Group founder and managing director Britt Megahey said: “We've been privileged over the past year to have experienced so much growth during what has been a difficult era for many businesses.
“While it would be easier to sit back and enjoy that success, we know to be fruitful and sustain such growth we must always put into the business what we get out and that includes investing in our team who are the backbone of the company.
“It also means securing the best, most convenient and the latest technology so we can offer our clients, who are seeking the most efficient communications systems around, the best on the market.”
In recent weeks Barclay Communications has rolled out its 'Hang up on Auto-Rolling Contracts' campaign, which is now on its second stage and reaching out to businesses in GB and internationally.
Auto-rolling contracts cost Northern Ireland businesses £4.5 million a year through a loophole in regulations which allows communications firms to automatically enrol businesses into a new contract without warning or notice, usually for a minimum of 12 months or longer.
'Hang up on Auto-Rolling Contracts' is one of many initiatives the firm is undertaking beyond its typical remit.
