SysGroup, a managed service player, has released its half-year results, revealing a mixed picture but also some promising developments for the business. Revenues for the six months ending on September 30th declined by $3 year-on-year to £10.96m, while pre-tax profits stood at £0.99m. However, managed services revenues saw an 8% improvement, now accounting for 84% of the company’s total business.
During this period, SysGroup also experienced some management changes, including the appointment of Heejae Chae as executive chair and Paul Edwards as the new non-executive director. Additionally, the company increased its investment in the hardware supporting its SysCloud infrastructure and embarked on a fresh strategy to deliver more artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) solutions. To support this ambition, SysGroup invested in an engineering team.
Chae emphasized the areas where the company is investing in future growth, stating, “Our strategy aims to position SysGroup as the go-to end-to-end data solution provider for small and medium-sized businesses [SMBs] embarking on their AI/ML journey. AI’s prominence is undeniable, with daily media coverage and increasing demand for AI strategies at the board level of every company.”
SysGroup recognizes the market gap in SMBs’ adoption of AI/ML due to a lack of clear strategy or implementation path. Chae highlighted the demand for a partner to support their development in this area.
The company’s conviction that AI and ML will drive growth in the second half of the year and beyond is supported by its actions during H1. Chae stated, “We have made significant investments in both technology and people. We have recruited a team of ML engineers from industry leaders such as AWS, JP Morgan, Validus, and McLaren, and significantly strengthened the senior management team to help take us on this journey, bringing together the right skillsets and mindset.”
Chae also highlighted the growing revenues from managed services, which provide a solid base for expansion. He acknowledged that while the company’s overall bottom-line performance may be marginally impacted in the short term due to investment, he is excited about the potential of what SysGroup is building and the unexploited market opportunity ahead.
SysGroup is reinforcing a culture of customer focus, outstanding service, innovation, entrepreneurialism, and high performance throughout the organization. Chae expressed enthusiasm for the company’s journey and the future revenue growth it aims to achieve.