ENTA Businesses
About ENTA
Enta History
1990
Taiwanese businessman Jason Tsai left his position as UK director of marketing at Tatung to start up his own company, Enta Technologies. During the hard hitting recession of the early 90’s Jason spotted an opportunity in the UK market for affordable computer components and began by distributing computer casings from his garage in Bridgnorth. "In times of recession people think cheap. They didn’t want to buy expensive IBM computers. We were able to supply them with much cheaper models from Taiwan and that is the reason we were so successful so quickly."
1995
Jason and Ruth Tsai received a special award from the President of Taiwan, Lee Den–Huei‚ in recognition of the overseas entrepreneurship they demonstrated.
Enta Technologies grew rapidly and Jason soon realised that the current unit offices in Hortonwood, where they had been located since 1991, were no longer sufficient. In 1995 work was completed on a new purpose built pagoda located in Stafford Park, Telford. The pagoda was designed by Jason’s wife Ruth and is made from genuine Taiwanese and Chinese materials including specially crafted roof tiles from a ceramics factory in Shanghai. The unique building cost £5million to construct and is surrounded by beautiful gardens with calming waterfalls, ornate bridges and over 200 Koi carp.
1996
An official opening ceremony for the new pagoda was hosted by Jason Tsai and co–hosted by the Taiwanese Ambassador‚ Mr Jien You–Sin. The ceremony was attended by over 600 British and Taiwanese delegates including 500 Taiwanese business associates from around the world. The ceremony also incorporated a giant marquee that accommodated both the guests and a dedicated exhibition of Taiwanese art and culture.
Noticing an opportunity to expand into Internet services, Jason established his second company, Entanet International Ltd in 1996. Entanet provided channel Partners with resalable Internet connectivity services. Entanet also provided bespoke connectivity and hosting solutions such as leased lines and colocation.
Enta Technologies was appointed one of only five authorised distributors of Microsoft products within the UK.
1999
Jason identified the need to provide Entanet customers with additional resalable services to ensure customer retention and in 1999 established Entacall Telecommunications Ltd. "The similarity in sales models for voice and data services made telecommunications an obvious choice for expansion." Entacall provided Wholesale Line Rental (WLR) in the form of PSTN and ISDN lines, marketing numbers, Carrier Pre-Select (CPS) and additional telephony services such as audio conferencing and automated TPS.
Entanet deployed a national fibre network of 11 POPs in major city locations.
2000
Entanet opened its first data centre located at its headquarters within the pagoda building in Telford.
2001
Enta Technologies’ new e-commerce facility, Entaonline, was launched following extensive development by Enta’s team of web design, programming and product development specialists. Entaonline represented an innovative way of supporting Enta’s reseller channel, enabling then to source products, obtain product and pricing information as well as place orders directly with Enta Technologies 24/7.
2003
Following the launch of Entaonline, Jason realised the need for an internal design company to cater for the needs of its sister companies and manage Entagroup’s corporate identity. Originally a website design team within Entanet, in 2003 Entamedia was established as a separate company. Entamedia soon expanded its offering to also cater for external clients providing content management systems, e-commerce interfaces and marketing and design support.
Entanet launched the Partner site, an online facility which enables channel Partners to manage their customer accounts, place and track orders, download product information and pricing and view commission reports.
2005
Enta Technologies won Microsoft Distributor of the Year and Specialist Distributor of the Year at the Computer Trade Show (CTS) Awards.
Entanet expanded its network with connectivity into Paris, Amsterdam and Frankfurt.
2006
In response to growth in the market for security and surveillance hardware, Enta Technologies launched Enta Security, a specialist division which focuses specifically on CCTV equipment.
Enta Technologies won Distributor of the Year – Systems and Components and Entanet won Specialist Vendor of the Year – Products & Services at the Computer Reseller News (CRN) Awards.
Enta Technologies joined the Professional Computing Association (PCA), the trade body for the PC industry. Jon Atherton, Enta Technologies, Vice President, was appointed as a PCA director.
Entanet joined Internet Telephony Service Providers Association (ITSPA), an organisation for VoIP operators which promotes competition and self-regulation in order to encourage the development of a flourishing and innovative VoIP industry.
Entanet entered a three year sponsorship deal with Wolverhampton Wanderers Football Club which saw them become one of the club’s Affinity Partners.
2007
In February 2007 Entanet was nominated finalist for 5 ISPA awards in the categories of Best Business ISP, Best Business Broadband, Best Internet Telephony, Best Business Email and Best Consumer Broadband. In the following months Entanet was nominated as a finalist in the Comms Business Awards, Channel Expo Awards and Channel Network Awards.
Entanet retained its CRN Channel Awards title of Specialist Vendor of the Year for the second year running.
Enta Technologies was nominated for Best Distributor Channel Program in the Channel Network Awards and Networking Distributor of the Year and Software Distributor of the Year in the CRN Channel Awards.
2008
For the second year running Entanet was the only company to be nominated as a finalist for 5 ISPA Awards in the categories of Best Business ISP, Best Internet Telephony, Best Consumer Broadband, Best Consumer Email and Best Dial Up. Entanet went on to win two awards in the categories of Best Internet Telephony and Best Consumer Email. Entanet received further recognition for its VoIP services with a finalist nomination in the Hosted IP Telephony category in the Comms Business Awards 2008.
Entanet’s substantial organic growth over the last 4 years was recognised by The Sunday Times Tech Track 100 which ranked the company in position 61 and Deloitte Fast 50.
In March 2008 Entagroup staff moved into a new purpose built office within their existing Telford HQ building. The new unified office houses the commercial and operational departments of Enta Technologies, Entanet and Entamedia.
Following significant investment in the development of its own Next Generation Network and through close working relationships with BT, on July 15th 2008 Entanet launched its new range of resale and wholesale ADSL2+ services.
2009
Recognition of Entanet's high quality services continued in 2009 with finalist nominations in the 2009 ISPA Awards category of 'Best Internet Telephony', the Comms National Awards category of ‘Service Provider of the Year’ and the CRN Channel Awards ‘Specialist Vendor of the Year’ category. Entanet's significant levels of organic growth were once again recognised by the Sunday Times Tech Track 100 with a ranking of 61st for the second year running and with listings in the Tech Media Invest Top 100 and Deloitte Technology Fast 500 EMEA.
In March 2009 Entanet launched a new portfolio of unified ADSL and ADSL2+ broadband packages making it even easier for its reseller partners to promote and sell ADSL2+ services. In September twenty partners were rewarded for their adoption of ADSL2+ with an action packed off road driving activity event which was held in Staffordshire.
2010
2010 sees Entagroup celebrate its twentieth year in business which is quite an impressive achievement considering the group was started by selling computer components out of founder, Jason Tsai’s garage. Twenty years on and Entagroup comprises three leading IT and communications companies, employs over 175 people and has a combined turnover of over $200million.
In recognition of Jason’s 20 year commitment to the IT and communications channels he was awarded the title of ‘Channel Entrepreneur of the Year’ in the 2010 Comms Business Awards. Commenting on the achievement he said: “I am absolutely delighted to win the award and be named as Channel Entrepreneur of the Year. This is particularly poignant timing as we are currently celebrating Entagroup’s twentieth year in business. 2010 is proving to be a very special year for me personally, the company and all of our employees and customers. It marks a real achievement in a turbulent economy.”
This award follows a number of other achievements for the group. In January, Enta Technologies and Entanet were both announced as finalists in the PC Retail Awards. Enta Technologies went on to win the awards for ‘Distributor – Sales Team’ and ‘Distributor of the Year’. Enta Technologies were also named as finalists in a total of five categories in the Microscope Aces. Meanwhile Entanet were named as finalists in the category of ‘Hosted IP Telephony Supplier of the Year’ in the Comms Business Awards; in three categories in the ISPA Awards - ‘Best Business Fixed Broadband ISP’, ‘Best Internet Telephony’ and ‘Best Business Customer Service ISP’; and were listed 78th in the Real Business Hot 100 which recognises substantial levels of sustained organic growth.
