EN’s Entrepreneur of the Year Awards are the region’s top accolades for owner-managed businesses. As the campaigning voice of North West enterprise for over two decades, EN is read and trusted by the region’s wealth creators. The Entrepreneur of the Year Awards are its opportunity to recognise formally the outstanding contribution that the region’s business people make.
‘I am very happy to be awarded Technology Entrepreneur of the Year and would like to thank each and every member of our workforce for turning my dream for Zen into a reality. This year has been a very exciting year for Zen. Our Fibre Optic Broadband services have grown from strength to strength including doubling our fibre optic broadband speeds and usage allowances for new and existing customers at no extra costs,’ said Richard Tang, Managing Director, Zen Internet.
‘In May we opened a new Data Centre at our North West headquarters In Rochdale. As demand for hosting services is growing we believe our customers deserve the best. This £4m investment allows us to provide exactly that, and also meet increased requirements for capacity in the North West,’ added Richard.
In 1994 at the age of 28, Richard armed with a Computer Science degree and 6 years experience as a computer software and hardware designer, decided to embark on a lifelong ambition to run his own business. Over the next 18 years the company has grown organically to where it is today: £43m turnover, employing 420 staff, and providing Internet services to around 100,000 customers across the UK.
Zen has an award winning reputation for customer service, support and reliability and has received a number of awards including Which? Recommended Broadband Provider, Zen’s fourteenth Which? endorsement in eight years and this year awarded Which? Recommended Home Phone Provider for the very first time. Also this year Zen was awarded PC Advisor’s Best ISP for the first time and PC Pro Best ISP for the ninth year running.
Zen consistently demonstrates a commitment to providing the best ISP service in the UK. The company which is still independently owned, started its business with dial-up internet access and was one of the first ISPs in the UK to provide ADSL broadband services.
Since then it has invested heavily in its network, services and its people to ensure that it leads from the front. Going from strength to strength Zen now includes Fibre Optic Broadband in its range of high quality Internet services to the business and home user. All of these services are supported by a highly robust and resilient network and excellent technical support and customer service.
This year’s winners were announced on 18th October at the Mere Golf Resort and Spa, Knutsford.