IT Directors Forum 2015 – Arcadia here we come!
IT Directors Forum – 20th cruise for Astro team
We are nearly half way through our 31st year and I am wondering where the time has gone. Not just the months in this year, the whole 31! One of the biggest milestones for me that seems to come around faster every year is the IT Directors Forum. By far my favourite business event of the year.
This year Steve Hodges and I have another full agenda spending some time with friends, catching up with some old friends we haven’t seen for a while and making some new friends. The event is usually full on for us from the moment we board on Wednesday afternoon to the time we disembark (fall off) Saturday morning. If we are lucky we will achieve approximately nine hours sleep across the entire event between us. I am sure this year our high seas adventure onboard Arcadia will be no different.
“…this IT Directors Forum 2015 trip will be the 20th time we have stepped aboard”
Between us this IT Directors Forum 2015 trip will be the 20th time we have stepped aboard the various cruise ships that have been used for ITDF spring, autumn and City IT events – including Arcadia, Aurora and Oriana. We anticipate being on board and in the Crow’s Nest bar by around 1500. Please come and join us for our very own 20th Astro IT Directors Forum welcome.
Once the event starts on Thursday our daytime meeting sessions will be in the Crow’s Nest – the best meeting venue on the ship. During meal times we can be found in the Meridian Restaurant, on deck three. After dinner we generally make our way to the Karaoke bar followed by the casino and the night club (yes it really is a tough gig).
“… we have a drinks reception on Thursday evening at 1900”
Fortunately Mr Hodges sticks to the casino and night club to spare us all from the completely random tonal scale he insists on using whenever he breaks into what he laughingly refers to as ‘singing’. I will take on the Karaoke duties snd will assist Mr Hodges in the night club as I am sure to lose my shirt if I venture into the casino. As is our usual custom we have a drinks reception on Thursday evening at 1900, which is just an informal gathering to chill out over a few beers before heading off to dinner.
The IT Directors Forum is never the same two years running for us, but we have had an exceptionally exciting year since we stepped off of the Aurora last year.
In June we were appointed preferred IT partner for Pride of Britain Hotels Group. Following a recommendation from Elite Hotels for whom Astro currently look after a range of IT and communications services, it was recommended to the group that Astro be a first port of call for IT-related requirements. In August we were granted TIGER regional growth funding by Kent County Council to become a leading UK niche ISP which was launched soon after.
“…we completed a new MPLS network and data centre migration project for TGI Fridays UK”
In September we released our new monitoring and alerting platform, AstroMAAP, to further enhance our managed service offering and bring a new level of support to our customers. In November Maddie Catling joined our sales team as Business Development Manager specialising in video conferencing and supporting audio visual services. Then in December we celebrated 30 years of successful trading marking the occasion with the launch of a new website and a number of staff promotions as we re-structured for an exciting future.
Earlier this year we completed the roll out of a new MPLS network and data centre migration project for award-winning restaurant chain TGI Fridays UK, resulting in improved network performance and a reduced overall expenditure. And last but not least, in July last year I was accepted as a Freeman of the Worshipful Company of Information Technologists.
If you are on board Arcadia 2015 please come by and see us at anytime. No need to wait for the allotted meeting or meal time. In the meantime, we hope you have a very enjoyable and productive IT Directors Forum 2015.
Useful links…
The IT Directors Forum 2015
TGI Fridays
Pride of Britain Hotels