Red Gate Software Makes Historic Scoop By Taking ‘Business Of The Year’ Award

Published 28th April 2006

Red Gate Software, the software specialist for database tools, has made history by scooping top prize for an award it did not enter after judges spotted the company demonstrated a “star quality” others were unable to match.

The company had several nominations made for the Cambridge Evening News Small Business of the Year Award, but judges were so impressed with the firm’s growth and profitability that they upgraded its entry to the premier Business of the Year category, which it went on to win. This is the first time this has happened in the history of the awards.

Some of the comments made by the judges were:

“…others are all very good, but not as good as Red Gate”;

“…they presented themselves so well, really good, it put them on a different plane”;

“…this business is fabulous …a great, simple idea taken to the Nth degree, it’s got to be Red Gate.”

Founded in 1999 by friends and graduates of Cambridge University, Neil Davidson and Simon Galbraith, the company now has 150,000 customers worldwide using its products and currently employs 40 staff, made up of 10 nationalities.

Its early product, SQL Compare, was an immediate success and the company has seen sales rise substantially from last year’s figures. Galbraith and Davidson, however, remain modest about Red Gate’s success.

“I’m the one person who can say it’s not rocket science, because I used to be a rocket scientist,” said Galbraith, who holds a PhD in experimental physics.

The company is aiming to attract 50 new members of staff in the next 12 months to ensure the business continues to move in the right direction.