Reflections of 40 years in IT

In 1983, I was working for a steel company, but the recession hit us hard.

Facing an uncertain future, I decided to set up my own company. I’d always had a passing interest in technology and computers, and could see that this was the future, so I decided to become a reseller for Olivetti’s M20 computers.

In the early days, the machines ran a revolutionary accounting software, but it was all very primitive; the computer mouse still wasn’t widely used, so everything on the screen was controlled by the function keys.

At that time computers cost close to £5,000 and with software and training on top, we didn’t need to sell that many to earn our crust. The turn of the millennium proved to be a godsend because everyone was terrified that their systems would collapse when the date moved on from 1999 to 2000 and therefore upgraded their equipment to millenniumproof options.

In the end, planes didn’t fall out of the sky and most systems continued to operate perfectly well, but it reminded everyone how important it was to keep everything up to date.

As for Minerva, we recruited a few more people to deal with the demand for software development, and more recently, cloud computing has made some headway and businesses are aware of the growing threat of cybercrime. It’s a constant battle for us and our clients to stay one step ahead, but so far, we seem to be winning.

Over the years, Minerva has relocated a few times, but once we’d migrated to Potters Bar, we really thrived.

Through natural growth and doing a great job for our clients, we’re now a team of 30 and things are looking healthy for another year of growth. It’s been quite a journey, but here’s to the next 40 years.