Digital & IT
Published: June 2, 2023 | Updated: 2nd June 2023
Milliseconds matter on a Formula One (F1) circuit and the only way one can be shaved off is if the whole team is driving forward as one, making small improvements as they go until they are cheering their driver up on the podium.
The F1 philosophy of marginal gains is ingrained within the thinking of Michael Frisby of Infinigate Cloud, formally Vuzion, who holds the position of Senior Vice President Cloud Services with the Fareham firm.
Swiss-headquartered Infinigate acquired Vuzion, which had a 2022 turnover of £40.23m a year, in August last year with the Hampshire-based firm now employing 60 people.
“I love the sport for its team ethos”, said Michael, who has also secured the Infinigate Cloud logo on the nose of the Williams Racing F1 car next year.
“What Toto Wolff built as a business leader and team leader at Mercedes AMG F1 is more impressive than what Lewis has done as a driver in building a team which won eight consecutive constructor championships.
“There is a no blame culture and all data is analysed so that areas for improvement can be identified. We try to do this in our business and look at how we can make small improvements every day across everything that we do.”
Developing a culture of constant improvement, Michael says, also rests on creating a working environment where people are supported and mistakes are learned from.
He said: “If you have created the right environment for people and have the right strategy then you can knock through anything.
“Mistakes happen every day so you do not want a culture where people are being blamed when things go wrong.
“Sometimes things go wrong and we have to learn from it and ensure we are better tomorrow.”
Early learning
Michael, a married father of three, first developed a passion for computing at the age of eight when his friend’s dad showed him how to write Breakout from scratch on his new Commodore VIC-20 he had been given for Christmas.
He spent five years of his early career working for Microsoft working on its ASP technology, a precursor to the cloud.
Michael also worked for Cobweb Solutions where he spent five years working as a Business Development Director before returning to Microsoft to build the Office 365 reseller business across Western Europe.
His second spell at Cobweb Solutions saw his return as Managing Director with Vuzion launched in 2016.
Vuzion was acquired by cybersecurity distributor Infinigate primarily for its Microsoft expertise, in recognition of Microsoft’s position as a leading cybersecurity vendor, to provide access to the Microsoft channel and to bring it’s digital platform expertise to the broader group. Looking ahead the plan is to rapidly expand Infinigate Cloud across the EMEA region.
Sales skills
Ambitious growth targets require excellent sales people who are able to explain complex technology to clients and relate the benefits that it provides to their business.
“For me it’s about driving to a win-win, Michael said.
“We are not a high pressure, hire and fire sales organisation and it’s about building long term relationships with our customers.
“Each of our customers has an account manager to help them grow their business.
“We wake up each morning thinking about how we help our partners be successful, rather than about ourselves. By helping our partners grow their businesses faster, we benefit from that. It’s a true win-win approach.”
Michael explains what he looks for when it comes to hiring new recruits to his sales team.
“We hire for attitude and values so that they fit in with the culture”, he said.
“We can train the skills. We have hired salespeople from a range of backgrounds, from car salespeople, people who have sold blinds to those who have had careers in the IT industry.”
This belief in people was drilled into Michael during his 13 years at Microsoft.
He said: “Microsoft is one of the best business schools on the planet.
“They are very focused on partner satisfaction and this is something that is also a big part of our culture.
“We always ensure our teams have between five and ten percent of their time dedicated to training as in the IT world there is something new every month to learn.”
