How the World of Business IT has changed in just 15 Years

1 September 2009 marked the 15th anniversary of Fareham-based Taylor Made Computer Solutions, a company that has grown from a partnership between Nigel Taylor and his wife Alison back in 1994, to one that now has a turnover in excess of £7m and employs 91 staff. Nigel took time out to reflect on some of the key changes that have taken place in the business IT arena since 1994, which have now brought us to a world where IT dominates all sizes of business and is typically the second largest overhead in a business after staff costs. Nigel comments: “In 1994, Amstrad were the leaders in the business IT field, but now no longer exist as a PC brand. Server-based networking has been introduced for smaller businesses, which was previously the domain of large corporates, and the last 15 years has seen a massive growth from less than 10% of the UK workforce having e-mail, to over 90% having either work or personal e-mail. Over the last 5 years, remote working has allowed people flexibility in their work patterns and mobility now means that communication and connectivity are available to anyone, anytime, anyplace”. Nigel also mentioned the massive rise in social networking in 2009, which didn’t exist in 1994 and that through IT development, there is now an overwhelming amount of ‘data’ available to everyone. Unfortunately, a downside to the heavy reliance on IT in businesses today has resulted in e-mail overload being cited as a major cause of stress in the workplace. Clearly, Taylor Made has reaped the rewards of this boom in IT usage, now operating from its prestigious offices at Cams Hall and gaining a high profile in the Solent region from its fleet of cars. The company was incorporated in 2002 and established a thriving Training division in 2005 offering both technical IT and soft skills training It has won numerous awards over the years, the most notable being 8th Best Small Company To Work For in the Sunday Times100 Best Companies To Work For, in February 2008. And more recently, in fact in the last week, Taylor Made has been awarded the Investors in People Gold Standard, a truly top accolade awarded to less than 1 in 1000 of IIP recognised organisations in the UK. It’ll be interesting to see what the next 15 years will bring! -ENDS- Words: 392