When an expanding PR agency applied to New Anglia Growth Hub for a grant to buy new laptops, it didn’t know how urgently it would need them.
By the time the equipment arrived at Felixstowe-based firm Prominent PR, the country was in the grip of the COVID-19 pandemic and its staff were having to work from home.
Employees at RB Agency, which was bought by Prominent in 2018, had always used desktop computers which were plugged into a server. This made remote working costly and unreliable and put pressure on its IT support team.
As the team at Prominent had access to laptops and cloud-based storage, managing director Helen Rudd wanted them to have the same flexibility.
She applied to New Anglia Local Enterprise Partnership’s Small Grant Scheme to fund the additional technology and was supported through the process by senior business growth adviser for Suffolk, Sam Vinyard-Jones. Within just 48 hours, the funding was approved.
Helen said: “It was always our intention to level up everyone with laptops and the ability to work remotely and thank goodness we did! Thanks to the grant we purchased new laptops and moved onto a cloud-based system just two days before the Government announcement to work from home where possible.
“Business hasn’t been interrupted and we’ve been able to continue providing a vital communications service for all of our clients. The process was simple, and our adviser Samantha was always happy to answer any questions I had along the way. I’d recommend the Small Grant Scheme to everyone.”
Sam said it was a pleasure working with Helen to develop the application for the Small Grant Scheme.
“We had no idea what was on the horizon at the time, but the project just made absolute practical sense,” she said. “It freed up staff who otherwise were tied physically on wired connections to a machine in the corner of the office, and the transition to a cloud-based system clearly boosted efficiency dramatically.
“As it turns out, the timing of this project couldn’t have been better. The team can now continue to support their clients with their usual high standards through this current crisis, adapting seamlessly to the rapid changes and Government guidance.”
To find out if New Anglia Growth Hub can help your business, call 0300 333 6536 or visit the New Anglia Growth Hub website.
