How College Life Sparked a Career in IT and Entrepreneurship
For our latest Made at Stoke on Trent College alumni feature we spoke to Mat Deaville-Boon, Managing Director at Commercial Networks Limited, who studied a BTEC in Computer Science and A Level Business Studies at the college between 1994 and 1996. Read his story, from student to MD below…
What did you study when you come to Stoke on Trent College?
I did the very first BTEC in Computer Science, and I also did an A-Level in Business Studies alongside it, as we weren’t sure if the BTEC would have enough (UCAS) points to get into University.
The course leader was a guy called Gerry, he’d had a lot of experience in business and came to the college with more knowledge of how to apply studies to a business environment. I was fully educational and preferred the practical element of learning, so his style really rang true to me.
As the course went on we learned how to use databases, in the days before CRM’s, build it out and show how it would be use for in a business.
What did you do next?
After studying at the college for 2 years, I went to the University of Staffordshire and did a Bachelor of Science in Computer Studies, but I didn’t finish the course.
I discovered during my work placement at Wedgwood China, during my first year that I learned much more in the working environment than from the course. I decided after this it wasn’t the right course for me, and I went and got a job working for one of the biggest insurance platforms in the world, a company called Policy Master.
They were based in Birmingham, so I commuted from Stoke-on-Trent every day, as basic IT support and progressed from there to being an engineer travelling all over the country installing IT systems. I then went on to work in different countries such as Jamaica and Barbados.
After 4 or 5 years I moved from Stoke to Birmingham, lived there for 6 years, then moved to Oswestry in Shropshire, which was where I started Commercial Networks.
What can you tell us about Commercial Networks?
Commercial Networks offers fully secure managed IT solutions to small and medium businesses. Because I’d worked for a large business, I could see what SME businesses couldn’t afford and couldn’t get, so we brought the large enterprise stuff to smaller businesses.
We cover the whole of the UK, and we can be anywhere from Devon to Aberdeen. We have five offices around the country with one or two people in each one so we can cover the entire UK. I’m based out of our Newcastle-under-Lyme office and my other Director Steve, is based out of Falkirk, so he tends to cover the Scotland area.
Have you always had a passion for computers and IT?
From 11 or 12 years old I was always pulling things apart and putting them back together, not necessarily getting it all back in the same place. I think some of my fascination was that my dad was a mechanic by trade, so he was always pulling cars apart. I didn’t like the dirty side of it and thought computers were a bit cleaner.
Did you imagine when you started studying that you’d have your own business?
The idea of Commercial Networks wasn’t planned, it just kind of happened. I was looking to leave the company I was working for in Birmingham, and after my three-month’s notice the company wanted to extend my notice by a month and then another month, until we got to a point where they still wanted support but on a more ad-hoc basis as they hadn’t replaced me. I was earning more money on a contract basis and that was the beginning of Commercial Networks.
What did you enjoy most about your college experience?
College life seems to have changed a lot since I was here, as I always remember you were here five days a week then.
When we were in college and had downtime, we spent time a lot of time in Hanley, playing pool at Shipley’s Amusement Centre.
What advice would you give to IT students studying at the moment?
I’m a big pusher of communication because some youngsters are used to hiding behind screens. We’ve had students working with us in the past who have loads of knowledge from their degrees, but they are lacking the communication skills.
You have to know how to communicate with people at different levels.
Our industry since COVID, isn’t tied to a particular country and people can offer remote IT skills all over the world, which is a good message for aspirational students who may want to set up their own business.
How have AI and Chat GPT affected your business?
AI is the buzzword of the industry right now, but some people are not sure how to fully utilise it. From a customer service point of view, people want to speak to a real human. Bots can generate system responses, is AI really AI or the next Google search?
Where did you first hear about the alumni network?
I heard about it recently at the Staffordshire Chambers Business Breakfast which was hosted at the Hammersley here at Cauldon. We were asked three questions about ourselves, and one of the questions was an interesting fact about yourself and mine was, that I studied at this very campus.
I like working with youngsters, it’s quite nice to help them develop their skills, personal as well as academic. I think it’s good for local people to see someone from Stoke who has worked all over the world, but also set up their own business in the city.
