Support Desk Performance – September 2025

 Our Support Desk had another strong month in September, with excellent results across the board.

• Total tickets solved: 879

• Tickets solved on time: 828 (94.2%)

• High-priority tickets solved on time: 182 (98.4%)

How does this compare?

Looking at the last few months, September continues the upward trend of strong performance. Both standard and high-priority requests were dealt with on time at higher rates than earlier in the summer. In fact, high-priority tickets have now been consistently resolved on time at 97% or better for five months in a row.

Why this matters

When you contact our Support Desk, you want issues resolved quickly and reliably. These results show that our team continues to hit that standard – especially when it comes to urgent, business-critical problems.

The bigger picture

Across the last six months, we’ve:

• Solved 4,381 tickets

• Resolved 4,024 on time (that’s over 91%)

• Maintained high-priority on-time performance above 95%

That consistency is something we’re really proud of.

Software update available - faster invoice generation with *custom* invoice templates

Jack's development team has just completed a software update within Alpha Tracker which will benefit asbestos and water consultancy clients using custom invoice templates*.  

Make your accounts staff smile! Faster invoice generation in Alpha Tracker

The change made enables invoices to be generated (behind the scenes) using our high-performance Cloud Document Maker service, meaning that invoices can be generated more quickly and more reliably.

If you would like this update, contact Support to discuss how we can patch your system.

* Alpha Tracker clients can pick from a number of built-in invoice templates which are professional and well-designed.  In addition, clients can design their own templates to reflect the fonts, colours and logos in use throughout their business.  This is another example of Alpha Tracker's flexibility and customisation

Decked Out with celebs at the Southampton Boat Show: Robin visits to see Andrew Bedwell show Big C V2 to the Boat Show visitors

Saturday was a special day down on the south coast – Robin headed to the Southampton Boat Show to catch up with our friend Andrew Bedwell, the man behind the incredible Big C Atlantic Challenge.

Andrew Bedwell and the amazing Big C V2 - the shortest boat to cross the Atlantic

You’ll remember from our earlier posts how Andrew is preparing to take on the Atlantic in Big C – the world’s smallest yacht designed to make the crossing, all in aid of raising funds for Cancer Research. At the show, Andrew was proudly displaying the boat - covered in our Start Software sponsor logo - to tens of thousands of visitors, and it was brilliant to see so many people inspired (and amazed!) by his story. Andrew’s second attempt to cross the Atlantic in Big C is set for May 2026, and momentum is really building.

As if that wasn’t enough excitement, we also rubbed shoulders with a couple of famous faces:

• Captain Jason Chambers – yes, the Captain Jason from Bravo’s Below Deck Down Under. We couldn’t resist grabbing a quick selfie with Jason and Andrew together (see below!).
  

  

  Robin, Andrew & Capt Jason

• Nick Ogden, founder of WorldPay, and inventor of e-commerce(!!) - generously gave Robin and Andrew a personal tour of his astonishing high-speed vessel, Thunder Child II. Let’s just say it’s the kind of boat that makes jaws drop and hearts race.
  

  

  Andrew with Nick in Thunder Child II

All in all, it was a fantastic day – catching up with Andrew, sharing the story of Big C with new audiences, and meeting some unexpected celebrities along the way. The countdown to Andrew’s record-breaking Atlantic crossing continues, and we’ll be cheering him on every step of the way.

Pedalling for a purpose – Dan & Robin at Goodwood! The Goodwood 500 was a blast. £1000s raised for MND sufferers in the West Midlands thanks to the Matt Gallagher Foundation

Last weekend, two of our own – Dan and Robin – joined forces with colleagues from our partner company CTT Group to form the Peloton Pioneers at the Goodwood 500 Charity Cycle. The venue: the legendary Goodwood Motor Circuit.

The CTT Teams in all their tight-shirt glory!

🚴 Dan’s Big Milestone

Dan completed his very first 100-mile ride – a huge achievement that shows what determination (and a bit of team encouragement) can do.

Dan in action on his way to 100 miles in 6 hours

🚴 Robin’s Metric Century & Photography Duties

Robin rode a “metric 100” (100 km) before swapping pedals for a camera, capturing shots of the team in action – including plenty of evidence of tired legs and determined faces.

Robin (unfortunate yellow helmet!), Bob, Sian, Laura, Connor and more of the riders

Why We Rode

The event raised money for the Matt Gallagher Foundation, set up after Matt’s diagnosis with motor neurone disease (MND) in 2023. The foundation provides practical help to those affected by MND in the Midlands – from home adaptations to “bucket list” experiences, giving families comfort and memories when they need them most.

The incredible, determined, inspirational Matt Gallagher starting the event

Thank You

A big thank you to everyone who has donated and supported us already – it made a real difference on the day. But we’re not done yet! If you’d like to help, every pound goes directly to the Foundation’s work.

👉 Donate here via GoFundMe

The legs are recovering (slowly), the photos are in, and the fundraising continues. Thanks again for being part of it.

AI in Alpha Tracker - our Premium & Enterprise clients enjoyed an early look at the AI innovations we're developing

A big thank you to all of our Premium and Enterprise Alpha Tracker clients who joined CTO Jack and MD Robin yesterday for our private AI webinar. We were delighted to see so many of you online, eager to understand where AI is taking Alpha Tracker — and our industry.

Robin ready to present - including his ZX81 & ChatGPT supermarket mag!

AI can sometimes feel like the latest in a long line of “next big things” in technology. Robin still remembers working with punched cards*, ZX81s, BBC Micros and Amstrad word processors… then PCs, spreadsheets, Windows, the birth of the Internet, mobile phones, smartphones and more recently WhatsApp, IoT and broadband. Each of those felt transformational in its time. But AI is bigger than all of them. What’s changed in the last five years has been nothing short of extraordinary.

That’s why we’re not waiting on the sidelines. AI is already embedded in Alpha Tracker today, with features that many of you are already using. AlphaValidator is helping check and improve report quality, FLS is scheduling more effectively, Ask Alfie is answering support queries, and screen summaries are making it easier to navigate information quickly. These aren’t “future ideas” — they’re working, live, and already saving our users time and effort every day.

Behind the scenes, we’re busy working on even more AI-driven capabilities. Without giving too much away (our competitors read this blog too 👋), we shared a glimpse of what’s “in build”: smarter tools to analyse photos and reports, new ways to check quality and consistency, and even features that will make communicating results quicker and easier. All of these are being designed with one aim in mind — to help you deliver faster, more accurate, and more insightful services to your clients.

We also touched on the bigger picture: how agent-based AI could become part of everyday business life, what that means for asbestos professionals, and the opportunities (and challenges) that lie ahead. One thing is certain — AI will reshape our industry, and we want Alpha Tracker users to be at the front of that wave.

And we’re putting our money where our mouth is. Next month we’re taking the entire Start Software team to Amsterdam for the World Summit AI. It’s the global event for AI, and we’ll be learning from the very best so that we can bring the latest thinking straight back into Alpha Tracker.

World Summit AI in Amsterdam - we're taking the whole team

So once again, thank you to all who attended. Your feedback, your questions, and your ideas are helping guide our AI journey. We’ll keep innovating, keep building, and keep listening — because our goal is simple: to make Alpha Tracker the smartest and most powerful platform in the industry.

* not Robin, actually, but he worked alongside people who did!

Alpha Tracker at the NORAC Conference in Manchester

Yesterday, Kim and Melika from Alpha Tracker had a busy and successful day at the NORAC Asbestos Conference in Manchester. They spent time at our our conference stand and in the main room, reconnecting with familiar faces and forging strong new connections across the asbestos consultancy and health & safety sectors.

Old friends! (less of the "old", Neil said!)

Melika looks tiny!

We showcased the latest updates in Alpha Tracker asbestos software, sharing how our platform continues helping consultancies streamline survey records, compliance, and incident management.

Old clients dropped by the stand—always great to catch up, hear feedback, and discuss how asbestos software Alpha Tracker is working for them in real-world settings.

New leads and contacts also stopped by, interested in how we manage regulatory compliance, reporting, and how our mobile/web platform supports field work.

Let's have an asbestos debate!

The conference had an excellent agenda. One of the standout sessions was the debate about whether UKAS accreditation should be mandatory (or not) in the asbestos surveying industry.

In addition, these stood out:

• “Respiratory protective devices – how much protection do they offer” by Nick Baxter, the RPE technical lead at HSE 
  
  
• “The benefits of accreditation and preparing effectively for requirements” by Louise Wainwright, UKAS Assessment Manager and Asbestos Technical Focus Person. 

These talks tied in nicely with Alpha Tracker’s focus on standards, compliance and user safety—so there was a lot of synergy and topics for deeper discussion at the stand.

Kim at our Alpha Tracker stand

NORAC’s 2025 Annual Conference is one of the key events in the asbestos sector calendar. With its location at Manchester Marriott Victoria & Albert Hotel, it attracted consultants, analysts, contractors, safety professionals, and regulatory experts. The event also included NORAC’s first-ever Asbestos Awards Ceremony, recognising excellence across the community. 

Kim with global asbestos leader Yvonne Waterman

We came away inspired. The insights from speakers like Nick Baxter and Louise Wainwright reinforced how ever-more important robust software solutions are—especially in areas like accreditation, protection, and regulatory standards.

If you missed us at NORAC but want to learn more about what Alpha Tracker can do for your asbestos compliance or surveying work:

• Visit Alpha Tracker’s main site: alpha-tracker.co.uk
• Or go to our Asbestos-specific page: alpha-tracker.co.uk/asbestos

If you’re interested, we can also send you the full NORAC programme link or PDF so you can see all the talks and plan ahead for next year.

Thanks to everyone who stopped by the stand, attended the talks, or joined in the conversations. Looking forward to applying what we learned and seeing some of the new ideas brought to life!

Can you support Dan & Robin cycling for Motor Neurone Disease?

Dan & Robin are cycling a charity event on Sunday 21 September at the Goodwood Motor Circuit.  The event - the Goodwood 500 - is in aid of people suffering from Motor Neurone Disease (MND).  500 cyclists are aiming to cycle 100 miles (40 laps!) to raise funds for the Matt Gallagher Foundation.

Matt Gallagher was a professional rugby player diagnosed with MND in 2023. Matt is a friend of Start Software director Andrew - and Andrew encouraged Robin & Dan to ride along with him and other friends and colleagues.

Robin & Dan 

Look - bikes!

If you'd like to support Dan & Robin and can donate something - however small - to support people with Motor Neurone Disease, here is the link: https://www.gofundme.com/f/exdcb-goodwood-500-matt-gallagher-foundation-charity-cycle.

Thanks in advance!