Moving on up

By Joanne Pontee, Marketing Manager

PDMS is on the move, after 13 years in Castletown, we are upping sticks and moving to Douglas. Hopefully, by the time you read this we will be happily settled in to our new building, Global House on the Isle of Man Business Park. It marks another important milestone in PDMS' 16 year history which has seen this home grown company develop from a 2 man IT consultancy into a thriving software development business, now employing 68 people. When I joined the company 8 years ago it was relatively easy to remember everybody's name or even extension number but now I would have to undergo some intensive memory training to even come close!

In the last 2 years alone we've increased our headcount by over 20, a phenomenal rate of growth - so it's hardly surprising that we've out grown our current office accommodation in Castletown. For those of you who never had cause to visit us, at present we are currently split over 2 buildings – Mona House and Celton House (previously Domicilium House) in Malew Street. Our current office space is full to the brim and having two separate buildings isn't ideal for us. On a wet and windy day a short walk across the road whilst balancing a note book and a cup of coffee can be a major undertaking! Our car parking facilities have also felt the squeeze and 'musical cars' has been a common occurrence, my reversing skills (or rather lack of them) have been put under the spotlight on many an occasion.

Castletown has been a good base for our business over the last 13 years and our close proximity to the airport has been beneficial, particularly with the opening of our London office in 2007. Happily, the Castletown we are leaving behind is a buoyant one, reinvigorated by the new Callow's Yard development. Our decision to move to Douglas was largely dictated by the availability of suitable office accommodation and it also means we will be physically closer to many of our Isle of Man clients, not to mention B&Q for all the DIY and power tool enthusiasts in our company! A quick straw poll revealed that more people will benefit than lose out from the move, in terms of reduced travel time and overall petrol consumption, so the environment will benefit too. In fact the move has been viewed as universally positive by PDMS' staff who are looking forward to more space and much improved facilities in the new building.

As I speak, skips are being filled, desks are being tidied (or in my case uncovered) and new stationery is being ordered in preparation for 'D day'. I’ve even been persuaded to part with the piles of dusty publications that I never quite find time to read but have always kept just on the off chance. Mike Bromwich our Technical Director is masterminding the significant building alterations and our move into our new premises and has been greatly assisted by our Office Manager, Barbara Collister and Infrastructure Manager Neal Kelly. Keeping on top of the building work, kitting out a new building, handling the logistics of moving over 50 people, with minimal disruption to the services we provide, whilst still doing your day job is no mean feat.

So here's to another chapter in PDMS' history and we are looking forward to our first Christmas and a busy 2010 in our new offices. And my New Year's resolution – to read all of the publications that land on my new desk before they have chance to gather dust!