A newly established IT solutions provider is helping companies in Hull and the Humber navigate the rapidly changing systems landscape and safeguard their business against the ever-growing threat of cybercrime.
With over 30 years of industry experience as the IT backbone of Hull-based multi-disciplinary engineering specialist Spencer Group, Layer8 has been established as a separate limited company and is now offering its services to small and medium-sized businesses across the region.
With a comprehensive range of IT services and solutions, including cyber security, site set-up, and software and hardware support, Layer8 gives clients the peace of mind that comes with having a fully-fledged IT team, without the costs and challenges of building and maintaining their own internal resource.
Layer8’s expert team has high-level expertise in a wide range of areas, including cyber security, networks, systems and more, and will work to get to know each client’s specific needs, in order to provide tailored and flexible support.
Recent cyberattacks on Marks & Spencer and Jaguar Land Rover have highlighted the crippling impact hackers can have on even the biggest businesses, causing huge disruption to operations and customer experience, and slashing profits by hundreds of millions of pounds.
For SMEs, a single cyberattack can pose devastating and business-critical issues, with significant financial and operational consequences, as well as potential knock-on impact for suppliers, clients and partners they work with.
According to the Cyber Security Breaches Survey 2025, published by the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology in June, just over four in 10 (43%) of businesses reported having experienced some kind of cybersecurity breach or attack in the past year.
Layer8 wants to change the narrative around IT, networks and cyber security, by making it more accessible and understandable, with a zero-jargon approach, to bridge the gap between IT professionals and users.
The name of the business is a twist on a phrase commonly used by IT professionals referring to problems caused by user error. Layer8 believes users shouldn’t be the butt of IT jokes, but at the very centre of solutions, with user needs shaping technical provision in every business.
Layer8 will work with companies ranging from self-employed contractors through to SMEs, startups and scaleups, across region. The Managed Service Provider (MSP) aims to tackle business “IT headaches”, fixing issues they have been wrestling with and, crucially, helping them develop robust and effective measures to protect from cybercrime attacks.
Layer8 IT Managing Director Paul Biggins has 12 years of experience and expertise and has worked his way through the ranks since joining Spencer Group as a graduate in 2013. He says the newly-formed independent business is focused on working with companies with up to 100 employees across all sectors.
He said: “Spencer Group started life as a small business, so we understand the challenges and complexities of running a startup or scaleup company, with limited resources, including setting up and operating IT infrastructure and employing robust cyber security measures.
“We have deep-rooted expertise which we’re excited to share with other businesses in the region, to help them put in place a technical set-up and cyber security protections and protocols that work in the most efficient and effective way for them.
“With the increasing frequency of cyberattacks, we know that online security is one of the key issues keeping business owners up at night. Our team takes a proactive and flexible approach, to keep businesses secure from every angle.
“With experience of working in sensitive and safety critical environments, problem-solving is one of our strengths. We’re like a dog with a bone – we don’t let it go until it’s fixed – and we don’t like dealing with the same problem twice, so we make sure it’s solved the first time around.”
In their previous role as the in-house IT provider for Spencer Group, the Layer8 team established an exceptional track record of delivering effective IT solutions for complex, multi-million pounds projects in challenging and safety critical situations, such as providing complete IT support for teams working on live railways and on key infrastructure projects.
The 11-strong Layer8 team proactively monitors for potential future problems, allowing companies to tackle potential issues head on before they hinder, or even derail, business operations.
Layer8 is already extending a helping hand to the local businesses as a sponsor of the recent Hull and East Yorkshire (HEY) Business Awards.
As part of the sponsorship, Layer8 is providing all award winners with a free IT health check to assess their security and identify any vulnerabilities in their systems.
For more information on Layer8 go to www.layer8it.co.uk or follow the business on LinkedIn.