The History of Metaphor IT



Metaphor IT was formed with a vision to become a leading provider of Managed Services in the UK.
In July 2015 the business made its first strategic acquisition with the purchase of Intellect Security. Intellect was one of the UK’s leading specialist suppliers of data centric security solutions. Established in 2002 it has supplied over 2000 customers with advanced security solutions, including some of the UK’s most well-known organisations.
In April 2016, Citrix Gold Partner; Virtual Workspaces was acquired by Metaphor IT, adding a specialist provider of cloud, virtualisation and mobility solutions. This acquisition meant that the combined business could not only assist clients in moving to cloud platforms and mobilising workspaces but it could do so whilst protecting their data at all times.
Tegen was acquired by the group in September 2016, enhancing the combined businesses Managed Services offering, enabling Metaphor IT to fully manage our client’s IT estates whether on premise or in the cloud.
Metaphor IT continues to organically grow and add more advanced solutions to its portfolio. As an innovative player in the market, the business continues to work closely with vendors in the development of the next generation of technology solutions. Metaphor IT has a twin track growth strategy of organically growing the business while also looking towards further acquisitions.
The Metaphor Senior Management Team
Richard Callis – Managing Director
With over 15 years of consultancy experience covering various verticals, Richard is well placed to ensure clients’ requirements are fully understood, and that we design, deliver and manage a solution that caters for them. He’s a specialist in developing business solutions focusing on best practice managed and consultancy services coupled with leading edge technology, in particular cloud strategies.
His thought leadership consultative approach and reputation for putting the customer first means he is highly respected within the vendor and customer community.
Richard is committed to executing Metaphor’s growth strategy by developing our existing services and building a team that over-deliver against our client’s expectations.
Stuart Grist – Sales Director
A passionate sales leader, Stuart has a track record of building sales teams focused on client relationships and delivering service excellence. A proven record of growing businesses, Stuarts talent is understanding clients business goals and translating those objectives into technical solutions that deliver real business benefits and returns on investment.
Starting his career as a technical consultant, Stuart held several senior positions at Fujitsu and managing Microsoft’s UK end user support services. In 2002 whilst heading Atlantic Telecom’s European Internet Services Division, Stuart led the communications solution project for the Manchester Commonwealth Games. Stuart also held senior positions within the Police service for a number of years.
Stuart is responsible for over-seeing the sales and marketing function within the Metaphor IT group. Stuart is also responsible for the groups organic and acquisition strategies.
Mario Cirillo – Chief Technology Officer
Mario has been innovating in technology for some 15 years. As founder of Virtual Workspaces and a Director of Intellect Security, he has worked to develop and introduce a number of key disruptive technologies into our groups portfolio.
Mario takes an agnostic approach to technology with a strong focus on leveraging the “right solution” to solve business objectives and strategies. Starting his career as a Virtualisation and End User Computing Consultant Mario has held a number of senior positions working with organisations to help them grow their technical portfolios and enable their sales teams.
Mario is responsible for the technical strategy, product and consultancy divisions within the Metaphor IT group.
Paul Coyle – Operations Director
Paul is responsible for overseeing all the technical operations within the Metaphor IT group and looks after the staff on the help desk from 1st line to 3rd Line Engineers and all our consultants. His ultimate goal is to ensure we constantly deliver truly exceptional service to our clients, whether we’re responding to tickets, implementing a project or communicating in a professional and timely manner.
Paul has a vast amount of experience managing large technical teams in his previous roles which is where he first met the other Directors so they have a good history of working well together.
Elizabeth Ogunledun – Finance Manager
Elizabeth has been in finance for over 10 years and has a great depth of experience when it comes to timely and accurate financial reporting. She joined the Metaphor IT group after their 3rd acquisition and has been paramount in ensuring all the Group’s finances align.
Having worked with various clients across different industries, Elizabeth is very knowledgeable in how to achieve greater efficiency and business focus within the group. She is also responsible for ensuring maximum client and business profitability, providing assistance to ensure the group make the best decision for the business.
Our Partners and Vendors
Metaphor IT are committed to partnering with the market leading vendors and distributors within the IT, Security and End User Computing space. This enables us to provide you with the very highest level of expertise, knowledge and quality.
Below is just a short list of some of the partners and vendors that we work with in our portfolio of services and solutions:
Policies, Terms and Conditions
Copyright Notice
This website and its content is copyright of Metaphor IT Limited – © Metaphor IT Limited 2016. All rights reserved.
Any redistribution or reproduction of part or all of the contents in any form is prohibited other than the following:
- you may print or download to a local hard disk extracts for your personal and non-commercial use only
- you may copy the content to individual third parties for their personal use, but only if you acknowledge the website as the source of the material
You may not, except with our express written permission, distribute or commercially exploit the content. Nor may you transmit it or store it in any other website or other form of electronic retrieval system.
Website Terms and Conditions
Welcome to our website. If you continue to browse and use this website, you are agreeing to comply with and be bound by the following terms and conditions of use, which together with our privacy policy govern Metaphor IT Limited’s relationship with you in relation to this website. If you disagree with any part of these terms and conditions, please click here.
The term ‘Metaphor IT Limited’ or ‘us’ or ‘we’ refers to the owner of the website whose registered office is The Baltic Exchange, 38 St Mary Axe, London, EC3A 8BH. The term ‘you’ refers to the user or viewer of our website.
The use of this website is subject to the following terms of use:
- The content of the pages of this website is for your general information and use only. It is subject to change without notice.
- Neither we nor any third parties provide any warranty or guarantee as to the accuracy, timeliness, performance, completeness or suitability of the information and materials found or offered on this website for any particular purpose. You acknowledge that such information and materials may contain inaccuracies or errors and we expressly exclude liability for any such inaccuracies or errors to the fullest extent permitted by law.
- Your use of any information or materials on this website is entirely at your own risk, for which we shall not be liable. It shall be your own responsibility to ensure that any products, services or information available through this website meet your specific requirements.
- This website contains material which is owned by or licensed to us. This material includes, but is not limited to, the design, layout, look, appearance and graphics. Reproduction is prohibited other than in accordance with the copyright notice, which forms part of these terms and conditions.
- All trademarks reproduced in this website, which are not the property of, or licensed to the operator, are acknowledged on the website.
- Unauthorised use of this website may give rise to a claim for damages and/or be a criminal offence.
- From time to time, this website may also include links to other websites. These links are provided for your convenience to provide further information. They do not signify that we endorse the website(s). We have no responsibility for the content of the linked website(s).
- Your use of this website and any dispute arising out of such use of the website is subject to the laws of England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales.
Privacy Policy
PRIVACY POLICY
Who are we?
Metaphor IT Limited provides subscription computing services to businesses of all sizes.
When we refer to ‘we’ or ‘our’ we are referring to Metaphor IT Limited. When we refer in this Privacy Policy to ‘our website’ or ‘our web site(s) we are referring to all web sites that we use to provide information of access to our service and products.
Why do we have a Privacy Policy?
We have developed this Privacy Policy because we want you as a Customer, to feel confident about the privacy and security of your personal information. Metaphor IT is registered under the data protection laws in the United Kingdom and takes all reasonable care to prevent any unauthorised access to personal information.
When we refer to ‘personal information’ in this Privacy Policy, we mean information which identifies an individual, or is capable of doing so. Accordingly, we may hold and use data about you in your capacity as a consumer, a business customer, or as an individual acting on behalf of a business customer.
Please read this Privacy Policy carefully. If you are visiting our web site(s) or using any of our Online Services products, by continuing to do so, you indicate your agreement to our use of your personal information as set out in this Privacy Policy.
What does this Privacy Policy cover?
This Privacy Policy only applies to our web site(s) and Soluton Services products. It does not apply to any other third party services, or to any other third party sites even if we host them or you access them from our web site(s). If you disclose your personal information directly to other companies, your personal information will be dealt with according to their privacy practices.
What personal information do we collect about you, and when do we collect it?
If you register to become a customer of Metaphor IT, we may ask you for information such as your name, address, contact telephone numbers, email address, credit card details, security information and other (optional) information. We may receive personal information about you from third parties. Except in the cases where we are merely processing such information for them, we rely on third parties to obtain your consent for us to use this information.
What do we use your personal information for?
If you’re a registered customer, we may use your personal information to:
- communicate with you about your access to, or use of, our service
- check that you’re a registered customer if you call the Service Desk. For security reasons we’ll ask you for some of the information you gave us when you registered and check this against our records
- collect payment from you
- let you know (by post, telephone or email) about any changes to our services or our web site
- contact you to ask whether you would like to join in one of our research groups to help us improve our service to you
- improve our understanding of the type of customers we’re attracting to our services and how they use our services
- subject to your agreement, provide you with information about Metaphor IT and/or third party products and services
- manage our network
- prevent and detect criminal activity, fraud and misuse of or damage to our network, and to prosecute those responsible
We may sometimes ask other companies to provide any of the above services on our behalf. If we do this, we share your personal information with them for this purpose. Please see ‘Do we share your personal information with anyone else?’ for more information on this.
What other information do we collect?
We have information about your use of our services (such as the times you logon and logoff, the applications that you use and logs of Internet usage). We mainly use this information to manage our network and for billing purposes. However, we may also use this information for marketing Metaphor IT services. We do not disclose this information to anyone other than to our agents who process it on our behalf. Your decision on whether you want to receive details of other Metaphor IT products and services which is made when you register for or order a service, also applies to this information. Consequently, if you do not wish us to use this information for marketing purposes but during registration elected to receive details on our other products and services, you need to complete an opt-out form.
To receive an opt-out form, users should contact the Metaphor IT Service Desk, who will forward one to you by either e-mail or post.
We also collect information from visitors to our web site(s) and registered Metaphor IT customers to help us improve our web site(s) and Metaphor IT services. This information tells us, for instance, how much data you are storing on our servers, the way you use and interact with our services, when you logon and logoff, lists the applications that you accessed by time and date, plus various other information which helps us track and profile our users. This information helps us to assess which parts of our services require improvement as well as enabling us to track down and resolve problems. We may share this aggregate data with our advertisers and other companies which offer their goods or services so that they can see how effective our services are as a sales channel for their products but any information we share in this way is anonymous and you could not be identified from it.
Do we share your personal information with anyone else?
We sometimes use other companies to provide some of our services, or to provide services to us, and we share your personal information with these other companies. However, these companies can only process this information according to the instructions we give them, may only do things with your personal information that we are entitled to do, and may only act on our behalf. In addition they are required to meet the requirements of the Data Protection Act to keep the information secure.
If you agree to receive information about other companies’ products and services, we’ll only share your personal information with those companies if they agree to use your personal information only for that purpose.
We’ll also disclose your personal information when required to do so by law, for example under a Court Order, or in response to properly made demands under powers contained in legislation.
If there is a change (or prospective change) in the ownership of Metaphor ITor any of its assets, we may have to disclose personal information to the new (or prospective) owner.
For how long do we keep personal information?
The time period for which we keep information varies according to what the information is used for. In some cases there are legal requirements to keep data for a minimum period. Unless there is a specific legal requirement for us to keep the information, we will retain it for no longer than is necessary for the purposes for which the data was collected or for which it is to be further processed.
How do we protect your data when it is transferred out of Europe?
Countries in the European Economic Area are required to have a similar standard of protection of personal data. This is not always the case outside that area. If we do transfer data outside that area, before doing so we take steps to ensure that there is adequate protection, as required by the Data Protection Act. Wherever possible we try to ensure that all personal data remains within the European Economic Area.
How can you find out what personal information we hold about you?
If you want to know what personal information we hold about you, please write to the following address:
Data Subject Access Manager
Metaphor IT
First Floor
16 St. Clare Street
London
EC3N 1LQ
Any repeat requests for such information are chargeable. In such circumstances please enclose a cheque for the administration fee of £10.00, made payable to Metaphor IT Limited.
If you want specific information, please tell us, because this will speed up our reply. Please also give us any relevant details to help us find the information you’re looking for. Please also note that in some instances, we may be able to provide the information you want without you having to make a formal request as described above.
How can you change the personal information we hold about you?
If the information we hold about you is inaccurate, please let us know and we will make the necessary amendments and confirm that these have been made.
How do we protect your personal information?
We’re serious about guarding the security of your personal information and the details of any transactions made. We take appropriate organisational and technical security measures to protect your data against unauthorised disclosure or processing. We use a secure server to store the information you give us (including any credit card details and passwords). Any personal data you send us is securely encrypted.
Over and above what we do to safeguard your privacy and security, there are a number of things you can do to protect yourself from internet fraud:
- choose a password you can remember but others will not guess, change it regularly and, if you do write it down, keep it somewhere safe and secure
- when you have finished your Online Services session, make sure you prevent your details being seen by anyone that you do not wish to see them. So, if you’ve registered and logged in, remember to log off. We also recommend you then close your browser so any history of the session is cleared
When do we use cookies?
We use ‘cookies’ to collect information from visitors to our web site(s) and from registered customers. A ‘cookie’ is a text file which is allocated by our server to your PC when you visit our web site(s). The text file contains a random number which, unless the cookie is deleted, allows us to identify your PC if you visit our web site(s) again.
Our servers use two different types of cookies. The first type is known as a ‘session-based’ cookie and is allocated to your PC only for the duration of your visit to our web site(s). It helps you to move around the web site(s) faster and, if you’re a registered customer, it allows us to give you information relevant to your selected Metaphor IT service. This cookie automatically expires when you close down your browser.
The second type of cookie known as a ‘persistent’ cookie is allocated to your PC only if you agree by selecting the ‘Remember Me’ function. This cookie, if chosen, will remain on your PC for a period of time.
This cookie allows us to:
- welcome you as an individual when you log on to our web site(s)
- limit how often you see particular advertisements or announcements on our web site(s)
- identify your defaults if you have set up a customised homepage
- provide you with relevant self-help information
- track where you have come from if you have come to our web site(s) from another web site
- track how many times you visit a page or advertisement
Other companies which advertise or offer their products or services on our web site(s) may also allocate cookies to your PC. The types of cookies they use and how they use the information generated by them will be governed by those companies’ Privacy Policies, not ours.
All types of cookies can be removed from your PC. However, if you do this there is likely to be a deterioration of your experience of our web site(s) (e.g. you may end up being shown endless numbers of pop up boxes containing the same advertisements or not being able to see a personalised page). Your browser lets you choose whether to accept, not to accept or to be warned before accepting cookies. These settings can be found in the advanced preferences –
In Internet Explorer select : Tools menu > Internet options > Security > Custom Level
In Netscape 4.x select: Edit menu > Preferences > Advanced
For removing the ‘Remember Me’ cookie, just un-tick the box when you sign in.
Are third party sites covered by this Policy?
Third party Internet sites that you can link to from our web site(s) are not covered by our Privacy Policy, so we urge you to be careful when you enter any personal information online. Metaphor IT accepts no responsibility or liability for these sites.
How do you find out about changes to our Privacy Policy
We may change our Privacy Policy from time to time. If you are a registered customer, we will notify you of the changed Policy.
Please also note that certain products and services may have their own separate Privacy Policies. These will be made clear to you when you order the relevant product or service.
Managed Services Terms and Conditions
• Please Click Here to download our Managed Services Terms and Conditions
• Please Click Here to download our Managed Security Services Terms and Conditions of Sales
• Please Click Here to download our Managed License Services Terms and Conditions of Sales
• Please Click Here to download our General Terms and Conditions of Sales