PKF Cooper Parry’s specialist IT solutions team have been selected to provide support for more than 140 people across the Chamber of Commerce’s offices in Chesterfield, Nottingham, Derby and Leicester, as well as providing strategic advice to help shape the chamber’s future IT strategy to create productivity and efficiency gains.

This will include the planning and implementation for the chamber’s digital transformation and ensuring best practice around using cloud-based technology such as Microsoft Office365 and SharePoint.

The firm’s cyber security team will also be assisting the chamber in getting ready for the new General Data Protection Regulation standards, which come into force in May next year.

East Midlands Chamber is the second largest chamber in the British Chambers of Commerce network and the largest business representation organisation in the Midlands, with more than 4,000 members.

Brett Critchley, partner and head of IT Solutions at PKF Cooper Parry, said: “The partnership with East Midlands Chamber is a major coup for the business. One of the key factors in winning the contract was around becoming part of their business and being heavily involved in the strategy and planning around IT. We have been providing strategic IT advice to businesses for more than 25 years and this breadth of knowledge also had an important part to play.”

Scott Knowles, chief executive of East Midlands Chamber, said: “IT plays a significant role in any modern business and it’s important that the chamber continues to invest in technology as a solution to continue to evolve its services and meet the demands of its members in the 21st century.

“As the IT continues to embrace cloud-based technology, outsourcing the chamber’s ICT support services was the next logical step in its digital transformation. I’m delighted to be working with PKF Cooper Parry in this new partnership.”