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Headforwards is the technology partner you need to navigate the future.
Our high performing Agile teams deliver software, application, data engineering and strategic consultancy services to a global client base. We are the trusted technology partner to clients in sectors spanning local authority, insurance, financial services, global communications and health.
Since our inception more than 12 years ago, we have delivered high value solutions to over 120 different clients, amassing significant expertise and knowledge in both strategy and delivery.
Why do our clients choose to partner with us?
- Our DNA is in engineering expertise and this remains at the heart of what we do. Our comprehensive understanding of high-performing, well-engineered solutions is what makes us expert at both IT strategy and its delivery.
- We’re Agile. Our whole culture and organisational structure has been developed to enable high-performing Agile teams, so we don’t just say we’re Agile, we’re truly Agile.
- We’re founder-led, still following their founding purpose of delivering value for clients through building great engineering teams.
- We build partnerships with our clients, working in an open, collaborative way and supporting their long-term business strategy.
- We have more than 100 100% UK based people. Our HQ is in Cornwall, but we’re increasingly a remote-first organisation. We operate from the FibreHub, our own building that facilitates collaboration and community between tech, software and digital businesses in Cornwall.
How we began
Headforwards was founded in 2011 by Toby Parkins and Craig Girvan, with the ambition of challenging the existing ‘on the bench’ model for outsource software. Both believed that clients were short-changed by this model and instead they focused on three core principles:
- The right people
- Dedicated teams
- Collaborative relationships
Craig was a former Development Team Lead with Tesco Direct, leading teams working on the non-food retail website and Tesco.com, Tesco’s online grocery website and supply chain. Toby ran a Cornwall-based website development company called UK NetWeb. Both Toby and Craig were Agile evangelists, and embedded a culture and practice of Agile in Headforwards.
How we’re growing
With the needs of clients evolving in the rapidly changing digital and technology landscape, Headforwards have developed its services to better meet client needs.
In July 2022, former AXA-Health Chief Information Officer, Pete Reed joined Headforwards as the lead Advisory Partner in the new Advisory and Consultancy division.
In addition to software engineering, Headforwards now have specialist expertise across application and data engineering. And we have evolved how we deliver, offering quick-start projects and flexible scaling models to meet the needs of our clients.
FibreHub
FibreHub is our own building, housing our Head Office. But more than that it is a hub and collaboration space where tech, software and digital businesses can work, meet and connect in Cornwall.
Opened in 2021, FibreHub was the brainchild of Toby Parkins, who believed that for a new tech revolution to take place in Cornwall, young people needed to be able to see physical evidence that there was cool stuff going on that they could be part of.
Clients are always welcome to FibreHub for an in-person visit, or if you’re exploring office-space in the area you can find out more on our website, fibrehub.uk
One of the biggest challenges for tech businesses right now is access to the right skills. Through FibreHub, with links to educational institutions and a hub of tech and digital sector businesses, we have the opportunity to take a leading approach to tech education and work towards solving the sector’s issue with talent development.
Toby Parkins
Director and Co-Founder
Great software is built by great teams
Headforwards is a software business. But first and foremost, it’s a people business. We believe great teams deliver great software, so we build dedicated teams, often in partnership with our clients that are the ideal fit both for their business requirements and our culture.
We employ more than 100 people, with 70% of our team based in Cornwall and 30% working remotely. We believe diverse teams deliver better software, so we proactively seek to build teams of people from different backgrounds, cultures, sectors and experiences.
Employee wellbeing truly matters to us and we place a lot of emphasis on ensuring our people are happy and well looked after. In 2022, we celebrated five 5-year and eight 10-year anniversaries.
Learn about how we recruitRelated posts
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