The future is greener for technology firm

Adrian

Bryant

,

Founder

and

Managing Director of ADM Computing

, talks to Sarah Dale about why keeping ahead of technology is key to the success of his 40-year-old business and why the environment is central to what he does.

Adrian Bryant is passionate about the planet – he even planted 60 trees during lockdown to “do his bit” – and has always seen himself in an overseas charity role.

He admits he “fell into” running a business 40 years ago with two friends, Dave and Martin (the ‘D’ and ‘M’ in the business name), who he met during his degree in accounting and management science at the University of Kent.

ADM Computer Services was established in 1984 and within a couple of years, Adrian was sole owner. The firm started out selling printer ribbons, floppy discs and computers before moving into computer repairs and upgrades for businesses.

By keeping ahead of technology development and keeping up with customer demand, the company has flourished and provides services including IT support, cyber security, IT consultancy and cloud computing.

The award-winning IT support company now has 75 members of staff including 50-55 highly trained engineers and Adrian prides himself on both high staff and high client retention.

“The key is investing in continual training for our engineers,” says Adrian, who has been a member of Kent Invicta Chamber of Commerce since its inception.

“We’ve always got involved with the training and networking available at the Chamber.

“We really started to grow from 1998 when a few key staff members joined us around that time including Project Director Martin Tanner and Customer Service Director Linda Sinclair. I was looking for likeminded key players who would take the business forward as part of my plan to have a flat management structure.

“Technology moves so fast in our industry, especially for engineers so training is important with staff retention. In fact, 12 employees have been with the company more than 20 years, 49 of them more than five. We invest a lot of money into our engineers’ training. Staff are encouraged to stay and grow with the company – one of our engineers has been here for 27 years. Our USP is how experienced our engineers are.”

Kailas Bryant, Communications Manager, adds: “We have a strong emphasis on staff retention and client retention. Investing in training benefits our employees and ensures our ability to provide high quality support to our clients.”

Keeping ahead of trends is something Adrian and his team pride themselves on. The company does not ask clients to sign fixed term contracts, unlike others who request clients to sign one-year-plus contracts.

“Our view has always been that if we deliver good service and good value then clients will stay with us,” says Adrian, who has three daughters, as well as son Kailas.

The company worked with clients to set up remote working before Covid lockdowns forced people to work from home and had started the process in-house too. During Covid, they were “snowed under” with more requests for businesses and employees to set up to work from home.

Kailas adds: “Our main priority during Covid was to support our clients and staff and we put on free Q&As for clients and the wider community too.”

They were also proactive in contacting customers to switch down their support and reduce their licences, therefore reducing costs, as offices closed.

Every year, the firm takes on two or three apprentices. Adrian says he chooses two who he feels will be a “good cultural fit” and one wild card.

“I like to take a chance on people,” he explains.

Kailas adds: “We’re big advocates of the apprenticeship scheme and a lot of our engineers started as apprentices. We don’t run into the same recruitment struggles that other businesses in our sector have. We like to recruit and invest in the training and development of entry-level IT professionals who are looking for a start in the world of IT.”

They also provide a higher-than-average apprenticeship wage.

Adrian has always been interested in green issues and sustainability and once stood as a Green Party Councillor.

“I never intended to go into business and would have liked to go and help people overseas,” he says.

“I ended up in IT by accident and therefore my whole thing was if I can’t work to directly support these causes, I would run a successful business and find other ways to help.

“It’s nice to give back and particularly because our industry uses so much energy and resources and everything has a sell-by date.”

Adrian gives back to the local community and overseas in several ways.

When Adrian was on the board of Business Link, he campaigned on recycling. The Royal British

Legion provided a warehouse, he provided resources and Kent County Council supplied funding and took on an employee to set up a recycling scheme for computers and other electrical goods, which evolved into Sweep.

The company also works with charities to take computers and furniture to African schools and small businesses, both in Ghana and The Gambia.

They run a Forest Schools project in China. They produced a Level 3 Forest School Teaching qualification, with lesson plans developed by Adrian’s wife, Mei Wang, and daughter, Bella Ma, which has resulted in over 2,000 certified teachers and trainers in the UK and China.

ADM Computing, which has 40 solar panels installed at its offices, has been ISO 14001 (Environmental Management) certified since 2015, has a growing fleet of electric vehicles, a car sharing scheme and a cycle to work scheme, and is also involved in the Green Schools programme.

They joined Ecologi in July 2022, which helps fund the world’s best carbon offsetting solutions and reforest the planet by planting 350 trees every month.

Adrian has also supported the environment closer to home. When he discovered that Kent Wildlife Trust was running a scheme to provide young saplings to the community during Covid, he signed up.

“I’m very lucky to live in the countryside and have a big garden so I planted 60 trees,” he adds. “It’s about doing what you can to protect our planet.”