Itโs a big milestone for Desynit this month. Itโs been a whole 15 years since the business was founded in 2000, and itโs been quite a journey. But we are here to tell the tale. 15 years in technology is a long time and while business IT systems have changed beyond recognition, there a few things that will always be true..
Cast your mind back to October 2000. Checking work emails on your smartphone, or โlogging in from homeโ were not really options. BYOD (bring your own device) only existed in an IT Managerโs worst nightmare. This was the era of Client/Server computing and many businesses in the UK were operating with IBM AS400 midrange systems.
Armed with an in-depth knowledge of the tools required to keep these business life-support systems ticking over, Jeremy Hutchinson, Iain Dalgleish and Gary McGeorge had a ready-made market for their CA Plex powered services.
With the departure of Dalgleish in 2007 and the arrival of two more Plex professionals, Matthew Morris and Jeremy Yearron, Desynit continued to modernise legacy systems internationally, happily ever afterโฆ.
2007 was a time of change for the business in more ways that one. It was not just a change of line-up, it also marked the start of an ambitious new project: the development of an FX software solution. It was a big risk for a small business, but this ambitious team knew that they had the skills they needed to deliver a world-class foreign exchange order system.
What they hadnโt accounted for though was the fact that at that time, financial institutions were not ready to buy from a startup software house, no matter how great the product was.
The project marked an important milestoneโฆ in fact it was the start of a new chapter.
“When you spend your own money on product development you appreciate the costs and impact of change and scope creep first hand. The lessons we learnt in 2007 have made us a far better consultancy, benefitting our customers today.”
Jeremy Hutchinson
ย And with that, Desynit entered a brave new era..The Cloud. The world of technology was changing rapidly and the impact on the way businesses worked was profound. No longer confined to on-premises servers, organisations were looking at modern cloud-based platforms such as Salesforce.com, to allow them the mobility and scalability that a new generation of digital native employees took for granted. Big organisations needed to transition, and yet ripping out the old and bringing in the new was not the best option.
The team have always followed Agile project delivery techniques, allowing them to successfully manage IT change projects iteratively, while keeping the lights on for all business critical systems.
As more organisations realised the potential of the cloud, Desynit expanded further, taking on more developers, business analysts and administrators. While our skill set was still rooted in the craft of systems design, clients came to Desynit for their holistic thinking ability.
“The key to delivering great technology always lies in understanding the people who use it. Programming is not just coding, but problem solving. A knowledge of what the people who use it on a daily basis need from these processes will always be at the heart of a well-designed system.โ
Jeremy Yearron
Today, the business has successfully recreated itself as a specialist Salesforce consulting partner, servicing clients with complex customisation requirements. Still based in the heart of Bristol, facing Temple Meads station, the team has now grown to 14.
Some clients, such as CPA Global, have been with us for the journey. Initially coming onboard as AS400 customers, weโve seen them safely through their integration with modern technology platforms. More recent clients include Excalibur Communications, Sigma Systems and Bristol based businesses Sawdayโs and DAS Legal.
Like any successful technology company that has been around for over 15 years, this is a story of reinvention. Desynit has been able to take the lessons from the past and look to the future. However, while our clients work with us to implement the next generation of ย tools, what has always stayed the same is our approach: good systems should change your life.
“While the IT industry is continually evolving, having a longer perspective on where weโve come from is a cornerstone of the business. Lessons from the past are often revisited and adapted to fit with current thinking. I mean is the cloud not a modern interpretation of the mainframe? Does the rise in the use of javascript equate to a return to the client-server model?ย What do the next 15 years hold? Who knows, but hopefully it wonโt involve development using virtual punched cards!โ
Gary McGeorge
Our independent tech team has been servicing enterprise clients for over 15 years from our HQ in Bristol, UK. Let’s see how we can work together and get the most out of your Salesforce implementation.