2010's

Our History

2010 BSI Environmental Standard

“To play our part in the wider community by minimising our impact on the environment.” – Our Blueprint for Success

In 2010 we decided to take our commitment to supporting our community and the environment to the next level by acquiring a BSI Environmental Standard. This accreditation is given to companies that want to manage their environmental responsibilities and make their day-to-day operations more sustainable.

2014 Avenir Telecom

With the formation of Chess Partner Services, we purchased the UK airtime division of Avenir Telecom Group. With their excellent reputation across the industry, this offered a real opportunity for partner and mobile growth, adding knowledge and expertise to our business.

2015 IRW Acquisition

Continuing our buy-and-build growth strategy, we acquired leading Scottish Microsoft Partner and specialists in bespoke software design, development and support, IRW Systems. This resulted in the formation of Chess Digital and allowed us to be uniquely positioned to deliver a range of consulting and software services to our existing and new customers and partners. This foundation is essential for enabling the next wave of technological change for customers focusing on the transition to cloud-based technologies and applications.

2016 2nd in The Sunday Times 100 Best Companies to Work For

Chess marked its seventh consecutive year in the list by rising from 3rd place in 2015 to 2nd place in 2016.

“Everyone at Chess is committed to building an energetic, hard-working, fun and exciting place to work that attracts, retains and inspires people to give their best. It is this total commitment by our people to Chess Culture that makes us one of the Best Companies to Work for in the UK and “a great place to be a customer” As it says in our blueprint for success, as proud as we are of our past achievements we’re excited by the future…. A great start to 2016.”

- David Pollock, CEO and Founder

2016 Lanway Acquisition

In a move to strengthen our ICT proposition Chess acquired Lanway. Lanway provided a full range of hosted and cloud solutions, ICT product supply and installation, storage, managed services, networking infrastructure, data security, professional services, business continuity, unified communications and systems management. This acquisition took Chess people to over 550, maximizing the talent, knowledge, experience and skill set within the business and strengthening our ICT, network and mobile capabilities.

2017 Foursys Acquisition

Expanding our business into the cybersecurity market we welcomed multi-award-winning cybersecurity provider Foursys.

Named a Top UK Education Partner for Sophos, the Foursys’ team of experts service customers across the UK and have 20 years’ experience delivering cybersecurity consultancy to public sector, SMB, corporate, and enterprise organisations.

“Cybersecurity is of upmost importance for any modern business. Foursys share our passion for delivering technological advantage and, importantly, this acquisition enhances our security offering to our customers. Together with their expertise, we have the talent and technology needed to deliver truly integrated solutions across enterprise, mobile and cloud environments.”

- David Pollock, CEO and Founder

2018 Officially #1

‘The Sunday Times 100 Best Companies to Work For in the UK’, following nine consecutive years in the list, having come 3rd in 2015 and 2nd in 2016 and 2017. Chess’ Founder and CEO, David Pollock, also wins the award of being named ‘Best Leader’ for the Second Year Running.

“I'm so proud that we've finally made it to first place. I was also thrilled to be named 'Best Leader' for the second year in a row, an award for all our great leaders at Chess. We couldn't achieve half of what we do without the support of our people, our loyal customers, our partners and our suppliers. We are passionate about making Chess not only a great place to work but also a great place to be a customer.

“It is this total commitment by our people that makes us the Best Company to Work for in the UK and I couldn’t be more proud. A great start to 2018 and a great way to celebrate our 25th year in business.”

- David Pollock, CEO and Founder