Verastar Group has signed a “multi-million-pound” digital transformation deal as it plans to create a unified customer relationship management (CRM) system.
There are no financial details, but Verastar says the CRM system will be built on Salesforce and Pardot systems, and is for all brands within its business group.
At the same time, Verastar has appointed Spencer Clarkson to the newly created role of Chief Technology Officer (CTO) to deliver the project. His 30-year career has included projects at energy and utility software solutions provider POWWR, Capita and fintech firm Temenos.
Verastar CEO Lee Hull explains: “One of Verastar’s biggest strengths is its ability to deliver multiple services to small businesses under one roof, so bringing all our brands closer together with a single, unified system that gives a single view of every customer makes perfect sense.”
Claire Brown, Head of Energy and Utilities at Salesforce UK, adds: “Verastar is bringing essential services to small businesses in the UK for a higher quality of customer care across utilities, telecoms, insurance and digital payments. Having the right trusted digital transformation partner is crucial, and we’re thrilled to be working with Verastar as they continue to innovate and grow.”
The project is being delivered in conjunction with Salesforce, Natterbox and SnapLogic.
Verastar comprises a number of different brands including Inspire Payments, The Insurance Octopus, Clear Business and kinex, offering eight services to more than 160,000 small businesses. According to LinkedIn, the group has nearly 10% of the UK’s small business market.
The multi-service provider was founded in 1998 and is headquartered in Sale, south Manchester. It has major offices in central Manchester, Rutherglen (South Lanarkshire) and Leeds, as well as a number of smaller sales offices across the UK.
It employs more than 1,000 people across all sites. Verastar is backed by private equity firm Vitruvian Partners.
Back in October, Verastar made two appointments to its board of directors with the addition of a new Chief Customer Officer (CCO) and Chief Product and Strategy Officer (CPSO).
