SME Member of the Week: Sitekit

Sitekit works on revolutionising the delivery of health and social care in the UK with a focus on building modern, responsive, and efficient digital ecosystems. 

How did your company start?

Once upon a time, on the Isle of Skye in the year 1989, a group of passionate individuals took on a mission to make a difference in the world of healthcare. We embarked on our first mission, the development of a CMS platform for the NHS, and dedicated years of hard work to deliver this service. Our efforts paid off, and in 2012 we partnered with Microsoft to create eRedbook, the only NHS-connected digital Redbook, which revolutionised the healthcare industry. 

In 2015, we took things a step further with the creation of eRedbook PRO, specifically designed for health visitors and professionals using Azure AD & Azure B2C. Our innovative solutions continued to gain recognition, and in 2019 eRedbook was used as the first of its kind for the NHS National Events Management Service (NEMS) and the first adopter of NHS login. 

Over the years, the team grew in headcount, ambition, and completed projects. Our mission was always to improve health and social care with game-changing technology solutions, while maintaining a strong thought leadership position in tech. In 2020, we launched Condatis, our sister company focused on CIAM  (Customer Identity and Access Management) opportunities outside the health and social care market. 

Then in 2021, we became a fully remote company, embracing the flexibility that allowed us to focus on productivity and deliver our solutions from the comfort of our homes. We also diversified to provide NHS workforce solutions, including digital staff passport and Provisioning Access Management.  

With around 50% of women in the company, we continuously support the Women in Tech movement and are becoming thought leaders in our area of expertise. 

In the same year, we extended our operations into social care with Project Care and Social Care Wales. We are excited to share more about our latest project in 2023, as we continue to make a difference in healthcare and social care with our innovative technology solutions. The journey has been a long and rewarding one, but the team's unwavering dedication to the mission has made all the difference. 

How does your company contribute to this month's theme?

As a tech company with a female CEO and a nearly 50% female workforce, we are proud to champion the cause of women in tech. In 2022, we focused on enhancing our online presence and advocating for more women to pursue tech careers. This year, we're taking it a step further by organising offline events. 

We kicked off 2023 with a networking event for women in tech in London, where we met with other women in the industry to discuss ways to make tech more attractive to women at all career stages. Our CEO also participated as a panelist in Tech UK's first 2023 event, where we emphasised the importance of promoting women in tech in Scotland. 

We were delighted to connect with organisations that support early tech education and offer speed courses to make tech more accessible and equip people with the skills needed to pursue a career in tech. At the moment, we are also having conversations with these organisations on how Sitekit can help support early career development for women. Despite progress, we recognize that there is still a lack of diversity in the industry. 

We are excited to see how our existing and new relationships will help us further our mission to support women in tech and make a meaningful difference.

Who's behind your company?

Here's what some of our members of staff had to say:

“As a relatively new member of staff, I can wholeheartedly say that Sitekit is one of the best organisations I have ever worked for.  They care about their staff and their clients and are committed to delivering technology solutions that will change the way that health and social care is delivered now and, in the future, and this was one of the reasons why I am now a member of the team.”

Lesley Erskine – Sales Manager 
 
“The way we look at things at Sitekit is different and we are never afraid to be bold. It is this difference and boldness of attitude that leverages big, lasting, positive change for our Health and Social Care clients. It is our people and their broad diversity of perspectives who make this possible.” 

Cathey Horsfall – Head of Consultancy and User Experience 
 
‘I feel like the best thing about working at Sitekit is the entire experience of working there – the helpful and friendly colleagues, very exciting and innovative projects, the flexibility of working remotely, opportunities to learn, and so forth.’  

Owen Mackenzie – Junior Developer  
 
‘The best thing about my month internship prior to my permanent offer was definitely the level of support I received at Sitekit. It was a great transition from education into the professional working world and all the staff made it incredibly smooth and easy. On top of this everyone is lovely and extremely easy to get on with!’  

Arran McIntyre-Amor – Junior UX Designer 
 
‘Sitekit’s great because it’s small enough to care, but big enough that it’s involved in exciting conversations and projects – it also attracts great people to work with.  I’m pleased to say I do feel supported, and I really enjoy working here – I finish nearly every day having learnt something new. The best thing about working here is knowing that the project I’m working on will make a massive difference to the NHS.’ 

Ryan Breakspear – Senior Developer  

What’s your perspective on the present and the future of this month's theme?

To promote diversity and inclusion in tech leadership, it's crucial to ensure equity, create a safe and welcoming workplace, and use gender-neutral language in job postings. These efforts require a long-term commitment to building a supportive workplace culture for women. While having a female CEO and a near 50% female headcount is a notable achievement for us, there is still more work to be done in the industry, and it's important for other tech companies to follow suit. We believe that our partnership with Tech UK can really make a difference for the industry where we will be able to share our knowledge and support other companies in not only being more inclusive but also encouraging for young and emerging talent in tech. 

Recent Success

• Rapid deployment of COVID Digital Staff Passport
• NHS England national DSP programme
• Secured funding for a Social Care project
• Securing PASA work     

What does the future look like for your company?

Sitekit has become known as the company that delivers solutions to Healthcare in the UK. We have started to apply our technology in the Social Care space with the successful award of a £1.7m Innovation Fund. Our solutions have included the eRedbook in the patient engagement space and the Digital Staff Passport and Provisioning and System Access to improve the management and onboarding of staff across 100 NHS Trusts.    

The area of workforce management is getting particular focus in the NHS as staffing levels and retention are a real issue and our work is demonstrating significant Return on Investment. This is particularly important as the NHS has significant cost cutting exercise in progress.  Aware of the financial constraint and the need to cut cost we are focusing on workforce management solutions, social care and looking to North America where we believe our solutions are of value.

Our partnerships are of increasing importance to Sitekit and we have been working closely with Microsoft on the Digital Staff passport. We are part of two bids as a sub-contractor with a multi-billion company for programmes that extend over 5 to 10 years.  This company approached us recognising the expertise and our knowledge and experience of the NHS.   So, the next few years looks exciting with focus on Health and Social care in the UK and RoW.  

Asks for other members

We would be interested in running a series of events on relevant and important topics, like women in tech in collaboration with other member to help reach more people and decisions makers. We are also interested to work on content production on these topics using mediums like guest blogs, podcasts, talks, etc.

More information

https://www.sitekit.net

SME Member of the Week: April - Healthtech

For April's SME Member of the Week, we’ll be focusing on healthtech. With health and care systems around the globe facing increasing pressures, the use of digital technology has never been more important. We'll be looking to showcase SMEs who have developed innovative technologies within health and social care, and who are ensuring the UK's health systems are prepared for the future.

techUK – Women in Tech

techUK is marching forward to close the tech gender gap in 2023. Throughout March, coinciding with International Women’s Day (IWD 2023) on 8 March, we are exploring how we embrace equitable workplaces. The UN’s theme for IWD 2023 focuses on Digital for All or DigitALL, and we are proud to support this.