THREE technology companies have been brought together as one Poole-headquartered business which is set to expand with the rise of hybrid working.

Vizst Technology will have nearly 60 staff and a turnover of £11million-£12m.

It was formed by bringing together Poole-based ITSB and Quad Vision, which were already in the same ownership, and the acquisition of Data Integration.

The new business, based in Poole with offices in London and Newbury, will offer services including network infrastructure design and creation, IT security and comprehensive IT tech. It will serve businesses, charities and education.

Its new chief executive, Richard Betts, said: “Vizst Technology is built on a strong foundation as it brings together a wealth of different skillsets, multi-sector experience and a successful track record in delivering exceptional customer service.

“I’m excited to drive our new company forwards as we deliver a customer-first approach and build trust through strategic partnerships. ITSB has built a highly respected and trusted reputation over the past 11 years through following the same approach, which puts us in a strong position to propel Vizst Technology into a successful future.”

Lee Dredge, founder and managing director of ITSB, becomes chief operating officer of the new company.

Mr Betts, who has more than 30 years’ experience in the industry, said the rise in remote working during the pandemic had been a factor in the company’s expansion.

“Most companies are looking at moving all their technology into the cloud so they don’t have to rely on office-based solutions and that has been a big factor in what we’re doing,” he said.

He said the sudden move to remote working in 2020 had been a “five year trend in five weeks”.

He said businesses increasingly needed the infrastructure to host meetings between people in the office and those joining remotely.

“That’s growth for us right now. That’s why we’re being brought in to set these rooms up properly, so we can have cameras that move around the room to follow people. Therefore for remote workers it’s almost as good as being in the same room,” he said.

He said the new ways of working were placing heavier demands on businesses’ resources. “They’re realising that because people are using technology like Microsoft Teams so much more, there’s a demand for significantly more bandwidth in the office,” he added.

“If you had 100 people working from home, they were all in their bedrooms on their Wi-Fi. If 40 of those people are now in the office but they’re all still using videos, the office is not set up for that many video calls.”