Bitopia move to Ruskin Park Offices

Back in June 2010 Bitopia relocated our operation to Sherdley Business Park in St Helens to add Document Archive Storage to our range of services. The document storage has proved very successful, however the trade-off in quality of office space hasn't been ideal. Plans to build additional office space within the commercial unit at Park Court proved unfeasible.

Having searched high and low to find the ideal environment to coax the very best out of our intellectual team, we're delighted to have stumbled across the ideal spot within walking distance of St Helens Town Centre. The Meadows is set in the tranquil surroundings of Ruskin Park overlooking lush green cricket, bowls and football grounds. The Ruskin Leisure Gym and Spa is very handy too!

We had to do some internal re-modelling to create the ideal space but the result is well worth the cost. We now have circa 1,200sq ft of open plan office space with windows on 3 sides including 10ft high windows at the front overlooking the cricket crease. Additionally we have generous meeting rooms, private office and spacious kitchen all contributing to the feeling of freedom and flexibility in how we use the space.

We moved in just before Xmas 2011 and we love it! Why not drop in for a coffee and see where the new magic happens?

PS We still have Unit 7, Park Court and now have more space available for storage. We also have a spare 600sq ft of office space that we may sub-let. Please call us if you're interested.

Our new address is:

Bitopia Ltd.
The Meadows
Ruskin Drive
St Helens
Merseyside
WA10 6RP

You can still reach us using the same telephone numbers.

Main Number: 01744 697920

For IT Support: 01744 697921
For Development Support: 01744 697922
For Accounts: 01744 697923

Focus on Software Development

Over recent years Bitopia have grown to offer a diverse range of professional technical services including IT Support, IT Consultancy, Hardware Supply, Email Filtering, Web Hosting, Document Storage, Systems Integration, Sage Integration, Bespoke Business Management Systems, Web Design and Development, E-Commerce, Mobile Websites, Mobile Application Development. However we realise that our growing range of services may be distracting us from what we love most, our Raison d'Etre... Creating Magical Business Software!

Our New Year's Resolution for 2012 is to focus our growth hormones on the software development side of our business and be the best we can be at building Game Changing Software Solutions for our customers.

Our software team was set back in 2011 with some of our rising stars having been head hunted by bigger organisations promising them the earth. We're now on a mission to attract and retain the most talented web developers at Bitopia and help them grow as we grow.

If you're an ambitious, passionate web developer or web designer looking for an opportunity to hone your talents working on leading edge web and mobile software projects in a relaxed, inclusive environment, we'd love to hear from you! You'll earn a very comfortable living along the way too!

Check out our job adverts on reed.co.uk

Bitopia Software Goes Live in Shanghai

After 3 months of complex modifications to support multiple currencies on our flagship bespoke business management system, the Brookes Bell Information System (BBIS), we are delighted to report that the new truly international web based business system has now been successfully implemented in the new Brookes Bell office in Shanghai.

James Halsall was our lucky Software Developer selected by Colin Kershaw, Managing Partner at Brookes Bell UK, to accompany him on his trip to Shanghai. The pair worked together across an intense 10 day period to train the Shanghai team on the Recording, Processing and Billing of Time & Expenses. As an international Marine Consultancy business, the accurate and efficient recording and billing of time and expense is at the very heart of the Brookes Bell operation.

As with any complex software solution, the implementation was not without its challenges, however, the 8 hour time difference proved to be advantageous, allowing our team back in the UK to progress any functionality tweaks through the Shanghai night ready for them to implement the next Shanghai morning.

Prior to implementation of the Brookes Bell Information System, the Shanghai office had been running the business from an array of Microsoft Excel spreadsheets. Whilst spreadsheets offer a flexible and low cost means of processing business data, the lack of control or ability to enforce business logic can present efficiency problems as the business grows. The single biggest issue with any spreadsheet based solution is the limited accessibility.

BBIS is a true multi-user web based platform with the complex Brookes Bell business logic embedded within the software. This makes the software very easy to use by guiding user action and only allowing each user access to the functionality relevant to their role within the business.

A very clever site to multi-site VPN solution ensures that the BBIS Web Application, hosted at Brookes Bell's head office in Liverpool, performs reliably despite the challenging network conditions in China. The application is built in the current latest release of Sench ExtJS version 3.3 which helps Bitopia create desktop like usability features in a web platform. The system is also heavily integrated with Sage 200 Financials, also hosted in Liverpool.

The Shanghai team recognise the multiple benefits of the new system and have warmly embraced the new software system. As for the Bitopia team, Happy Customers make all the hard work and long hours worthwhile.

New User Focused Bitopia Website Launched

Over the past few years Bitopia have helped countless clients save money, improve their online presence and systemise their business practices by providing our many different services at the highest level of quality. It wouldn't be complete if we didn't practice what we preached, and therefore we have invested some our blood, sweat and tears in creating a brand new website to help both new and existing customers find exactly what they need.

Bitopia website in 2003

Usability and content have been the main areas of focus for our revamped website, but we have also rebooted the design to maximise the user's experience. It is now easier and quicker for our visitors to find the right page and, more importantly extract the right piece of information in order for them to make informed decisions.

Bitopia website in 2006

As with any bespoke solution our website is an ongoing project which will be updated as necessary each week. We understand that business and technology is forever changing, and we're committed to reflecting these changes in our website content. This means that if we make an important change that you need to know about, you can rely on our website to inform you.

Bitopia website in 2008