Pictured above: Matt Jones (Disklabs), Maxine Chapman (MAS -WM) and Harlan Simpson (Disklabs)

A unique opportunity has seen a Tamworth-based Digital Data Services provider win over £350,000 of new business in just six months.

Disklabs, which has benefited from strategic support from the Manufacturing Advisory Service - West Midlands (MAS-WM), is stealing a march on its rivals by offering a new On-Site Certified Data Erasure service at data centres on enterprise class storage equipment.  

This includes the re-manufacturing of the storage systems and re-selling them into the second user market.

Clients, including three global corporates, are already taking advantage of this industry breakthrough and benefitting from the security of government Certified Data Erasure of their customers sensitive data, along with the introduction of a new revenue stream.

Harlan Simpson, Operations Director at Disklabs, believes the initial interest is just the start of things to come:

"The new service is a win-win situation for our clients and goes way beyond the industry norm that used to see us pick up the storage platforms and dispose of them according to the WEEE guidelines.

"What do we now is go on-site at large data centres and erase the data to a government certified level, which then allows us to remove the equipment from the client's premises and bring it back to our facility where we can re-work it so that it can be sold ready for the next user."

He continued: "We are already an approved supplier for three major UK corporates that operate a number of data centres nationally and are expecting interest to grow considerably, as more organisations become aware of the massive benefits of this approach.

"I feel anything that can bring a new revenue stream into not only our business, but that of our clients, is hugely beneficial in the current economic climate."

Disklabs, which employs 16 skilled technicians at its Tamworth site, has worked with the Manufacturing Advisory Service to develop the re-manufacturing process and the external support has helped accelerate its introduction by six months.

The Strategic Change Project provided an overview of the company's processes, secured a host of efficiency savings and gave it the backing to take initial knowledge and understanding and turn it into a commercial offer.

"Moving into new areas is always challenging, but fortunately working with MAS-WM removed a lot of the barriers and the advice we received has made a major difference to our bottom line and how we present ourselves to large, global customers," explained Harlan.

"The increase in work has safeguarded a number of jobs and we expect to create another six positions by the end of 2010."

Established in 1997, Disklabs provides data services in four key business areas, including computer forensics, data recovery, data erasure and asset services.

Its client list is equally impressive and ranges from multi-nationals to local authorities, universities and police forces across the UK.

Maxine Chapman, Specialist Adviser at MAS-WM, adder her support: "One of our roles is to work with companies on introducing new services in a bid to diversify their business and increase sales.

"Disklabs has done just that and are now in a position to attack a marketplace rich in potential and one that could potentially lead to new jobs for the West Midlands."

Established in 2002, MAS-WM has assisted over 6000 companies to improve their products, productivity, processes and people, adding over £250m to the turnovers of those firms that have embarked upon in-depth business improvement projects.