Our History
CDS began in 1993, when, as an Engineer with an untypically wide range of experiences in different fields, Richard Powell (Founder and Director) decided to start up his own business. At this time, the IT industry was a growing and highly competitive field, but Richard had confidence that he could provide IT equipment and customer focused services to Ayrshire’s Small Business and Domestic PC users.
Not afraid of diversifying and with years of cross industry experience, “Danmark Systems” (as it was then known) would take Richard into Travel, Further Education, Lease Finance, Legal Services, Accounting, Metal Manufacture, Fabrication, Food Delivery, Logistics, Electronics, and many more sectors. Providing advice, support, equipment, and software, Danmark expanded its customer base and experience, becoming a firm able to fulfil the IT needs of any client from any field.
Artwork hung in the original CDS office in 1993,
still on display
Initially working from a home office in Ardrossan, the firm invested in a garden lodge which was converted into a fully insulated dedicated workplace. Here, amongst the kids’ outdoor toys, machines were built and repaired, software was written, and the company began to develop, taking on additional employees. It is entirely probable that this was one of the first garden sheds connected to the internet in the world. The firm became known as “PC Doctor”.
When turnover and business requirements dictated, the then Partnership became a Limited Company, Computer Doctor Services Ltd, and moved to a larger office on Portland Road in Kilmarnock. The additional space allowed us to expand our services and begin offering support in online services. We took over management and support of a software suite developed for the Travel industry. Soon after, the original developers ceased operations, leaving some 300 firms with no support. We analysed the system and set up a support team and around 20% of the firms took on the new package. We still support and operate this software over two decades later.
In 2004, CDSL purchased an office, right across the street, which we still operate from, today.
As time progressed, we applied the experience gained in those different fields to many firms and
organisations. While the name was once appropriate, It became apparent that the firm needed a
facelift and a new identity to reflect the IT consultancy business that we have become and
represent the high quality service that we provide, and with that we became “CDS” with the
strapline “IT Success”.
In 2020, Covid presented a massive challenge to many firms and customers; we were fortunate in that we were able to provide all of our clients with remote working facilities. For the businesses that thrived during that time, we were able to provide software development and logistical support that enabled them to grow and support their customers in a rapidly changing world.
For the businesses limited by the pandemic, we were fortunate enough to use our additional revenue to support them financially by reducing charges substantially until they could afford to resume normal contributions. While we were able to provide full remote and internet-based IT services before 2020, the pandemic gave us the opportunity to demonstrate this capacity on a large scale. We have the facility for clients to operate entirely remotely and securely from wherever they happen to be working.
Over the years, our team has changed and diversified, as we have found a team with specialisms that can cover every client's needs. The business, having proven its longevity, looks to the future, planning for the decades to come. We have a group of a highly skilled and dedicated staff who share the CDS values of integrity, client focus, and impeccable IT support allowing us to be confident in our IT Success Guarantee. Whether we’re providing support for Jet Engine production or sending messages to over 300,000 customers a month, our team at CDS will always have your back.
If you're in need of an established IT firm that you can rely on, or have an enquiry about additional services we can provide, get in touch below!
- Minimal Risk
- Minimal Stress
- Guaranteed IT Success