About us
Our purpose is to provide scalable, secure and supported broadband, safeguarding and remote learning solutions using a best in class Cloud architecture
Founded by a highly experienced team
Coconnect was spun out from Novatech, a business with over 33 years experience as a highly rated technology supplier. Coconnect understands that schools have time and budget restraints which challenge their school broadband suppliers.
We tailor practical packages that can be simply managed; but also grown to take advantage of other Cloud technologies such as VoIP telephony, Cloud storage, and virtual desktops.
David Furby
CEO
David Furby
CEO
David has been in the schools IT sector for over 30 years. He founded Novatech, one of the UKs largest IT suppliers to schools, in 1987 when he was a student studying for an Engineering Degree at Portsmouth. He remains it’s CEO today alongside his role as CEO of Coconnect.
David has always had a passion for education and spent many years as a Trustee for a local secondary school, and wants every child to be able to take full advantage of the rich resources the internet has to offer whilst be kept safe from its many threats at all times.
Jamie Wilson
Technical Director
Jamie Wilson
Technical Director
Jamie has been in the IT industry more than 25 years and is still loving it all; from classics like the CBM 64 and 48k Sinclair Spectrum (remember those?) to the super powerful gaming machines of today.
His work as a secondary school governor brings a keen appreciation of the challenges facing schools plus the opportunities brought to education by the online and digital worlds.
Outside work Jamie is either playing a guitar or retro gaming.
Alex Puttock
Finance Director
Alex Puttock
Finance Director
Alex has a lifetime passion for numbers, numbers that deliver insight and better outcomes for all, customers, suppliers and Coconnect. With 2 children in early years education during the lockdowns, he has a keen interest in remote education and the technology to enable it. Outside the office he lives and breathes all forms of cycling.
Shayne Grove
Director of Education Services
Shayne Grove
Director of Education Services
Shayne has decades of experience working with schools to support their IT and broadband requirements, he has an excellent understanding of how to match the technology to genuine educational needs. A specialist in filtering and safeguarding he has led Coconnect to be one of the most effective and complete providers of school broadband. Outside of work Shayne continues his personal commitment to education as a school governor and is an keen Lego builder.
Matt Kirkpatrick
Technical Manager
Matt Kirkpatrick
Technical Manager
Matt has decades of experience of working in the IT sector, designing and implementing infrastructure solutions for public and private sector. He is the architect and chief implementer of the Coconnect school broadband and Cloud systems and a fully paid up member of the Red Bull fan club. He says it’s a great help with very complex implementations!
James Lancaster
Service Engineer
James Lancaster
Service Engineer
James started working in IT in 2016 and is a key member of our support team. He has a keen interest indie game development, programming and network protocols. James really embraces diving into complex problems, that’s why he enjoys working for Coconnect; which provides him the opportunity to problem solve, learn and expand his knowledge to help schools and education.
Mike Davies
Service Engineer
Mike Davies
Service Engineer
Mike has been working in the IT field since 1999, he is passionate about providing fast and accurate service to all every school he speaks to, and regularly solves awkward problems for Coconnect customers. Outside work he maintains an interest in hobby-level electronics, designing PCBs and in particular single board computers for a wide variety of uses.
Jonny Avery
Marketing Exec
Jonny Avery
Marketing Exec
Jonny is fresh into his career since graduating from University in 2019 and began his career in IT Sales before moving to Coconnect to focus on his passion for marketing. Outside of work, Jonny enjoys going to the gym and playing Badminton which, he has played to at a national level. When he is not exercising, he enjoys socialising and going to events such as festivals and gigs.
Sammie Clark
Service Delivery Coordinator
Sammie Clark
Service Delivery Coordinator
Sammie has worked as a key member of customer focused teams over a wide range of industries and specifically within the IT sector since 2020, she is very passionate about providing the best service possible whilst keeping well organised and maintaining a fine attention to detail. Outside of the office she has a keen interest in gardening, nature and the great outdoors and can generally be found out enjoying walks with her dogs.
Coconnect can provide broadband and online safeguarding that is safe, secure, and reliable tailored to your school's specific needs. We thrive and are proud of delivering exceptional services.
We are not just broadband and safeguarding specialists; we can provide reliable, rapid, responsive, Remote Network and Device Management, a Fully managed VoIP phone system and Office 365 backup.
Along with Cloud Storage, Servers, Desktops and Wi-fi6 (802.11ax) ensuring we can offer your school a fully managed cloud IT strategy.