Our History
Charterhouse Voice and Data plc was established in 1993 and it is still owned and managed by its original founding partners. The world was different back then! No email, the Internet was used only by academics and geeks, analogue technologies were dominant. Mobile phones had handles for their batteries. Only secretaries could type and we carried briefcases not laptop cases.
But 1993 also saw Sir Tim Berners-Lee invent the World Wide Web, Microsoft gave us Windows 3.1, Intel gave us the Pentium processor, and the digital revolution was well underway. It's fair to say we've surfed a few waves of change in our time, and we're still enthusiastically looking for the next big ground swell of technology evolution. The landscape has changed beyond all recognition in the last 17 years and so have we. Here's how our business has kept up:
- 1993 - Company founded as a copier dealer, selling Mita machines
- 1996 - Added Sharp reprographics; added Panasonic and Toshiba phone systems
- 1997 - Reached 50 employee landmark
- 1999 - Added Avaya telephone systems
- 2000 - Added Canon, HP and Microsoft to our portfolio
- 2000 - Bought corporate head offices outright
- 2001 - Added Cisco data networking products to the portfolio
- 2001 - Broke through £5 million turnover barrier
- 2002 - Evolved least cost routing and broadband services
- 2003 - Opened stores and distribution centre in Hackney
- 2004 - Added Mitel and HP ProCurve products; became Mitel Platinum Solutions Provider
- 2004 - Over 80 employees and over £10 million turnover
- 2006 - Added mobile voice and data services; became T-Mobile Business Partner
- 2007 - Achieved Cisco SMB Select partner status; over £15 million turnover
- 2008 - 100 employees and £16 million turnover despite the recession
