Delivering a Digital Future with Innervate

Just over a year ago, United Kingdom tech firm Innervate set out on their expansion across the Middle East and chose to set up a regional office in Bahrain at the heart of the Arabian Gulf.

Why did they choose the Kingdom of Bahrain?

Andy Startin (CEO at Innervate) explains: “It was an easy choice really. Bahrain is at the center of the FinTech revolution, and the most established financial center in the Gulf region. Bahrain is also amongst the first in the GCC to pursue regulatory modernization in FinTech, placing it on the path towards becoming a global FinTech hub. With our deep experience in Financial Services, we felt Bahrain was an ideal location for our base in the GCC.”

“We are not just setting up a Bahrain office for a UK business though. We are in Bahrain to build a Bahraini business. Working with FinTech Bay as our base, as well as UK Trade and the EDB we can ensure we make the most of the brilliant talent that exists in the Kingdom.”

Who are Innervate?

For the past 35 years, Innervate’s mission has been to make its customers more productive and more effective; Innervate’s customers can then in-turn build better relationships with their customers.

Andy explains this further: “We do this by implementing best-in-class digital productivity solutions, services, and support. We work incredibly closely with our customers to understand their unique business challenges and the opportunities these present, we can then help them to maximize the value of their digital investment.”

“Our core technological specialization is in Customer Relationship Management (CRM) on the Microsoft Dynamics 365 platform which we’ve enhanced and deployed across a variety of sectors.” Innervate’s expert approach spans 4 key areas.

The first is Discovery, where Innervate works with customers to understand their unique challenges and build a technology roadmap. The second is Deployment, where Innervate uses their technical skills for Microsoft Dynamics implementations, upgrades or migrations.

The third is Managed Services, where Innervate supports customers to ensure they can make the most of their digital solutions. And the fourth is Licensing, where Innervate advises customers on the right number and type of Microsoft licenses they need.

This approach is of real benefit, as Andy explains:

“By combining our four key areas of expertise we can deliver a truly end-to-end relationship with our customers. We’re also recognized as a Microsoft Gold Partner having delivered well over 350 implementations and with 35 years’ experience of digital transformation we pride ourselves on delivering solutions, services and support our customers truly value.”

Innervate in the Middle East

Innervate is the first Microsoft Dynamics 365 Gold partner in Bahrain with such a deep experience of Dynamics CRM and the Financial Services sector. Not a stranger to the Middle East, some of their international clients in the region include Saudi British Bank (SABB), Miki Travel and Carnival Corporation.

In Bahrain, the company is currently engaged with a well-established and highly respected bank who they are working with on their ongoing digital transformation initiative.

There are also several other projects Innervate will be working on with financial services engagements starting in the very near future.

Building the Community in Bahrain

Since its official launch in January at The British Embassy in Bahrain, Innervate has been active across the FinTech landscape. In mid-2019 Innervate and Microsoft co-hosted an educational event for more than 50 invited financial services entrepreneurs and executives at Bahrain’s most prestigious business venue, The Capital Club. In August Dylan Mines, Innervate CTO delivered a presentation on “Digital Transformation in a changing world” at the 3rd FinTech Series event as part of the Al Salam Summer Internship Programme.

And in September, Innervate hosted an in-depth and extensive event alongside FinTech Bay as part of Bahrain’s Tech week. The event, titled “Delivering a Digital Future” shared first-hand insights into how to make effective use of the latest digital technologies to delight customers.

The Innervate team was joined by Sh. Mohamed al Khalifa, Head of ICT for the Bahrain EDB, Alistair Sergeant, CEO of Purple – a digital transformation consultancy – and speakers from Microsoft as well as Innervate’s existing customers to share their experiences and thought leadership to help educate the attendees on how they can prepare for a digital future themselves.

The Future for Innervate in Bahrain

When it comes to the future for Innervate in Bahrain, Andy sees a very exciting time ahead: “We love Bahrain, we love the Bahraini people and we’re 100% committed to building a Bahraini business.

More of the UK team will be coming out to Bahrain more regularly as we onboard more customers and continue our expansion in the GCC.”Most importantly though we will have a focus for the future on investing in local Bahraini talent that will build our expertise and presence in the GCC and beyond.