In this edition of our anniversary blog series, we’re celebrating Steven Perrins as he marks over 25 years at SVL.
From the early days of demoing portable recorders to leading complex, multi-million-pound cloud solutions, Stevie has seen first-hand how much the industry has evolved. And through it all, he’s played a key role in helping SVL grow by building long-term, trusted client relationships.
We spoke to Stevie about how it all started, what’s changed over the years, and why, for him, it’s always been about people first.
What first brought you to SVL?
Pure chance, and a few run-ins with Stuart Sinclair in the pub!
We first met when I was 17, working in financial services. At the time, I was helping to set up a large insurance company and Stuart’s team were brought in to look at the voice recording.
Stuart was installing a voice recorder in our office, and I was the one looking after it day-to-day. Afterwards, I kept bumping into him around East Kilbride, and eventually when SVL were looking for a salesperson, he got in touch.
How has the industry changed since you started?
Massively. Back when I started, we used to carry a physical voice recorder around, record sample calls before a demo, and then play them back to show potential clients what the technology could do. It was all big boxes and cables in customers’ comms rooms.
Now, contact centres are running on cloud platforms, and AI is changing the game completely. It’s been a huge transformation – from hardware and wiretaps to cloud-based, AI-driven systems.
It’s not just the technology that’s changed – the whole sales process has too. It used to be pretty straightforward: demo the product, get a purchase order, and the engineers would take it from there.
Now, deals involve longer cycles, legal reviews, procurement, and full-scale deployments. We’ve gone from selling one recorder at a time to delivering complex, multi-million-pound contact centre solutions. It’s still sales, just on a much bigger scale.
What have you enjoyed most about your time at SVL?
Definitely growing with the company.
There’s a group of us here who’ve all been around for 20 years or more, and we’ve seen each other grow up, seen our kids grow up, and even seen some become grandparents. It’s a real family, not just something we say.
And we’ve all been part of the company’s journey. We’ve seen SVL transform, not just in terms of technology, but in scale, in ambition, and in the kind of clients we work with. That shared experience and sense of ownership is something special.
What’s the biggest lesson you’ve learned?
That no two people or businesses are the same.
You have to adapt how you work depending on who you’re speaking to. What works for one client won’t work for another. Everyone has different goals, pressures, and ways of working, and the key is to listen, understand, and build the right kind of relationship.
We’ve never been about pushing a particular product. It’s always been about understanding where the client is now, where they’re trying to go, and helping them get there with something that actually fits.
That’s how you build relationships that last – and I’ve got clients I’ve worked with for over 20 years, so I’d like to think we’re doing something right.
Are there any standout moments from the past 25 years?
We’ve definitely had a lot of fun, but we’ve also worked incredibly hard. In the early days, it was full-on. Travelling all day, catching up on emails late at night, doing whatever needed to be done to make things work.
Looking back, that effort from everyone is what’s made SVL what it is today. We all played a part in that.
What’s next for you?
We’re now working with bigger, more complex organisations – large multinationals, global contact centres. The deals are fewer, but bigger and more transformational. You’re not just selling a tool, you’re helping redesign how a business runs its customer operations.
That kind of work is exciting. It’s strategic, long-term, and the impact it can have is huge – not just for the client, but for the customers they serve.
