• Tarek Meliti , co-founder and CEO at TDM Group


• 13.07.2021 01:51 pm

Financial IT: Can you please tell us more about your background? What’s the story behind founding TDM Group. 

TDM Group was founded in 1997 as a traditional IT MSP. We now have offices in the UK, US, UAE and Jordan and work with local partners in Canada, Europe, Aisa Pac, Africa and South America. We are also in the process of opening a software development hub in Sri Lanka. As we have expanded, our business model has also evolved, helping us to achieve year on year growth.

TDM Group began its journey 23 years ago with just one client. TDM Group was born out of a desire to help others succeed using technology – it's what gets us out of bed every day. Our passion for people means we are determined to help our colleagues develop and grow. This proactive approach to everything we do allows us to have a positive impact on our partners and nurture a culture of mutual success.” 

Eventually, our business expanded to saturation point. We realised that TDM Group’s technological prowess wasn’t enough; we needed to adopt a company-wide approach to problem-solving and change – so began the search for solutions that could help overcome the hurdles we faced. This led to the creation of our Managed Business IT Service (M-BiTS): a holistic approach to managing IT and implementing innovative change that considers the impact technology has on the entire organisation. 

Financial IT: What is unique about TDM Group and what does the company do to stand out among its competitors?

TDM Group is not just an IT service provider; we combine our technical know-how with strong business acumen to consider the impact technology has on an entire organisation. 

Rather than operating as a traditional MSP, we have evolved to become a Managed Business IT Service (M-BiTS) provider, allowing us to help our partners formulate an effective business strategy through harnessing IT knowledge and services. This means that we are not simply a cost centre. Through our model, business leaders can leverage external expertise, allowing them to embrace new creative thinking and experience that typically would not have been available in house.

Our client’s business is our business. If they do well, we will do well. Therefore, it’s in our best interests to take the time to learn about the client so we can aid them with achieving their goals.

Another crucial point of difference to our model is our people, who are not IT technicians or sales managers. Within our team, we have IT business managers: people with business backgrounds that also have technology in their skillset. This means we can work with businesses more effectively as an IT partner, not simply as an IT supplier. 

Financial IT:What are the main challenges facing your company during Covid-19?

Part of our service is introducing new technology and software to our partners that will assist them in achieving their business goals. We onboard businesses and their staff to these new technologies as a continuous process – not just on a one-off event.

However, as a result of the pandemic, many businesses have shifted rapidly towards cloud-based services. Rapidly onboarding entire teams onto these new services can be a challenge for the business – but it’s not impossible. Ensuring that businesses can effectively utilise technology is vital. Finding the right balance between change and stability is important when introducing technology to people – and this has become more difficult over the past few months due to the pace of change. 

Financial IT: In your opinion, what has been the biggest advancement in your company during the pandemic? 

TDM Group is already well-positioned to service companies on-premises or in the cloud. However, the impact of the pandemic and the shift to mass remote working has meant we have seen a huge uptake in organisations wanting to deploy cloud services. This is a trend we expect to see continuing as more organisations look to deploy a hybrid working approach post-Covid.

Companies that were unhappy with their current IT service provider will be exploring the market as we come out of the pandemic. We can utilise the experience we have gained to service these customers more effectively.

Migrating to the cloud doesn’t have to be a step into the unknown. TDM Group’s cloud services provide the foundation for a range of innovative hosting solutions designed to help our partners realise their potential. Our expert consultancy, implementation and migration services and support guarantee a seamless transition to cloud delivery models.  

By offering commercially flexible, cost-effective and secure cloud solutions that scale to meet changing requirements, our partners can achieve their goals without compromising on quality.  

Financial IT: Looking forward one year, what are the main changes that you expect to take place? What's next for TDM Group?  

Change is inherent to our model. Our business goal is to implement worthwhile change that drives development – and we will continue to do this. IT services are going to be required more frequently as technologies continue to develop.

The effects of the last year have meant that change is taking place much faster. We have seen businesses adopt a range of new technologies as they attempt to overcome the constraints of the pandemic. 

Following the exponential acceleration to cloud-based services, businesses are focusing on implementing more efficient and secure systems such as single sign-on (SSO) and multi-factor authentication. There is also a greater need for integration between different systems. These are all things that will continue to happen, but at a much greater speed than before.

A consequence of this accelerated change is that smaller businesses can compete on a more level playing field. The increased use of resources such as SaaS products has meant SMEs can make use of complex software that they wouldn’t have had access to in the past, without having to make huge investments into on-premises solutions – and the benefits of this software can’t be understated. With the assistance of technology, these businesses are going to continue to shake up the market.