Sheffield is gaining a strong national and international reputation as a key hub for tech companies and start-ups – with many calling the city home. And it’s not just those starting out who see the potential the region has to offer, established companies like BJSS are also noticing.
Founded in Leeds in 1993 by IT specialists Mark Hunter and Andrew Vincent, they believed they could do things better outside of a large corporate environment. And they weren’t wrong…
BJSS now have offices right across the UK from Aberdeen to Lincoln to Exeter, as well as in Europe, the US, and Australia. They’ve received a Queen’s Award for Innovation and completed projects in Yorkshire including rebuilding the NHS Spine and migrating e-ES to the Cloud alongside the NHS.
In 2019 BJSS opened an office in Sheffield, led by Head of Delivery Mike Sanderson. Explaining why they chose that location, Sanderson said: “We tend to grow by winning some work in a new place and developing around that. With Sheffield it’s a little bit different. You get close to Sheffield and realise things are going on, like Sheffield Digital and all of the meetups that are happening. It feels like it’s on the cusp of starting to really explode, and it’s exciting to be in at this point.”
BJSS want to build the company’s profile in Sheffield, not just as an employer and service provider, but as an active member of the city’s digital ecosystem, too. Already a major sponsor of the Sheffield Digital Festival two years running, the company also run the annual BJSS Engineering Academy, helping graduates get on the career ladder.
With a history of ‘giving back’ to the community, the team want to bring the likes of a tech training scheme for veterans, an awarding-winning community programme helping young people to build digital skills, and free events for other tech professionals to Sheffield as soon as possible.
Sanderson is sold on Sheffield and believes more will follow suit: “Sheffield is becoming known for EdTech and health-tech, and all the heritage of manufacturing – I think Sheffield will continue to be an attractive proposition. I’d be very surprised if this time next year we aren’t talking about companies that have done the same thing as us.”