One of the most important aspects of the IT sector is to stay on the cutting edge of technology and one step ahead of the competition.

And that is exactly what Applied Computer Technologies (ACT) has been striving to do for the past 25 years it has been in business in Bermuda, according to general manager David Bart.

For the IT company, which is based in the heart of the city in Hamilton's Reid Street, is currently in throes of a number of new innovative projects ranging from launching a new more customer-friendly website and a remote services solution for those on the move to being on the verge of signing a significant new partnership, which is still under wraps.

ACT was started back in May 1983 by two ambitious Bermudians, John Robbins and Erich Hetzel, who decided to get together and form a company to fill a niche in the market of bringing computers into the Island as well as offering to service and maintain the machines.

The company quickly established itself as the deliverer of the first corporate Local Area Network (a computer network covering a small geographical area) in Bermuda, while, within Latin America, the Caribbean and Bermuda region, it provided the first HP (Hewlett Packard) Storage Area Network (the local attachment of remote computer storage devices to servers) that replicated data between two sites.

Its other claims to fame include becoming the first reseller of HP and Compaq products in the country, having acquired the status of authorised channel partner and reseller in 1983, and it has gone on to receive recognition as the biggest HP reseller in Bermuda for the past five years as well as establishing itself as the only company authorised to provide warranty service for HP, IBM, Apple and Mitel products. "A big part of that was the corporate and retail side," explained Mr. Bart.

"So they were are doing the office stuff as well as the corporate computers and they branched out when they realised it was becoming difficult to distinguish between corporate and retail business."

ACT is now part of Northrock Ventures Group, which is made up of internet service provider Northrock Communications, computer and accessories retail shop The Complete Office and cabling company Switchworx, said Mr. Bart.

"Now, we have got those three companies that serve the purposes of the community," he said.

"And, if you look at the whole group, we are definitely the largest IT group in Bermuda and, in fact, if you take all of those companies, there is nothing that we don't do.

"That is how we position ourselves with our clients and we sell the whole group of companies as really a one-stop shop."

Mr. Bart himself, who hails from Canada, started out as a sales representative with the company in June 1999, before working his way up the ranks to sales manager two years later and then making the general manager's position his own in December 2004.

"Y2K and 9/11 created a pause in the market when everyone was trying to work out what was going to happen next," he said.

"But, the market got back on its feet after 9/11 because that was when the first phase of insurance companies set up here and it was a huge influx of capital and it, in turn, really changed our business model in terms of how we were perceived and position ourselves in the market and sell ourselves.

"In the last six-and-a-half years our focus has shifted 180 degrees and that is really when we shaped the company and became a service-orientated company."

Indeed, ACT went on to specialise in particular areas, Microsoft and Citrix on the software front and HP and Cisco where hardware is concerned.

"That is where our focus has been and now it is very important to align ourselves with these tier one manufacturers.

"And we won't sell anything unless we have the engineers who are able to design, implement and offer post sales support the products and systems. We need to have the right services solutions behind it."

The company also boasts the largest service centre on the Island, comprising a range of resources such as spare parts stocked in its warehouse, but the biggest change it has undergone in recent years has been the make-up of the services provided, with more than 90 percent of its revenue coming from hardware procurement prior to 2000, which has today been reduced to less than 65 percent of the business.

Meanwhile, the remaining 35 to 40 percent share of ACT is driven by its professional services group consisting of 25 engineers, from senior network architects and Microsoft/vendor centric engineers to hardware fixers starting out in their trade.

Mr. Bart admitted one of the biggest challenges facing the company at the moment is finding the right staff, whether they be Bermudian or ex-patriate.

"It is all about having access to highly skilled engineers, sales and even administration staff to do the job well," he said.

"It is very expensive to make a mistake by hiring the wrong person for the job and access to quality staff and people is by far our number one challenge. Then, there is the constant battle of making people aware that the Bermuda market is the first place to go when looking for products and is competitive when compared to buying in the US."

The biggest change he has witnessed during his time in the industry, has been the huge influx of capital brought into the Island by the reinsurance start-ups. In the meantime, ACT has set about drawing up a website which allows clients to access their accounts at the click of a button, as well as completely redefining the way it supports it customers through the use of a remote services package.

"The biggest change has been this wave of new capital coming in through the insurance and reinsurance world that has just changed the market and it has been a big reason why we have been successful," he said.

"We are talking about being in a position to service that market, which is what has allowed us to be so successful in the last few years.

"Now, we are constantly looking at opportunities for growth, but it is also one of those things that we don't want to become too big too quickly and not be able to focus on our core business.

"We want to have a greater website presence in Bermuda and become more prominent in some of the other jurisdictions in the world, such as, say the UK, Canada or other islands and be more visible to potential clients looking to redomicle or have a presence in Bermuda in some capacity and we want to make sure we are well-positioned for that."

To find out more about ACT visit its website at www.act.bm