Celebrating 30 years of PDMS

That small office has since grown into a company that has become one of the most respected in the field of software engineering.

To celebrate those 30 years of success, we recently held an evening in the Isle of Man which not only reflected our early days, but how the company has grown to work with clients such as the NHS, Stanley Black and Decker, and Sealey, as well as others right across the world.

Speaking at the event, PDMS CEO Chris Gledhill said:

"Since 1993, we have increased in size about 5.5 times taking us from the original two to 92 people today. We have two offices, worked with over 300 customers in about 50 jurisdictions in many different sectors. Yet our core purpose has remained completely consistent over the last 30 years.

We aim to ensure that customers are able to make the best use of information, technology and data to achieve their organisational goals, we aim to provide the information for people to succeed and I really put the emphasis there on information, data is the raw material, information is what people need."

Proving his love of data and information, Chris shared some key statistics about PDMS's history:

• More than 45% of our clients have worked with the company for ten years or more 
• PDMS has employed over 250 people on the island since it first opened its doors
• One in six of the technical team in post today started with the company as an apprentice

Chris also praised Junior Achievement, who unveiled their new loyalty card scheme at the event. This scheme will see JA volunteers receive discounts or other benefits from partner companies across the island.

Chris added:

"We should never take for granted the value of STEM and institutions and the value of collaboration between politics, civil service, business and the third sector. I can’t overstate how important our relationship with Junior Achievement is to business, because it makes such a difference to so many aspects of success."

Despite having been running for 30 years, Chris noted that PDMS is a company that feels young, diverse and vibrant. He added that even with a millennium of continuous service across the business, there are industry record levels of women and under 45s in senior roles.

Speaking at the event, Lieutenant Governor Sir John Lorimer said he had visited PDMS’ office and had been struck by how they invest in their people and how they look after their team.

He commented:

"The thing that struck me was was working with the community and that strong relationship with the community, particularly giving staff time to go off and work with charities."

The Lieutenant Governor also praised PDMS’ commitment to the environment and a sustainable future, before leading a toast to 30 years of success for the company.