AN Oxfordshire IT company is celebrating its 15-year anniversary this month.

Planet IT, based at Milton Park, near Didcot, has developed an enviable reputation for full outsourced IT support and supply services to organisations across the UK.

The team at Planet IT are experts in IT, including planning, systems and networking, managed services provision, cyber security, cloud solutions, and sourcing hardware and software.

The company employs more than 40 staff and many have been with the company for more than a decade.

It works with major brands including The Royal Household, Museum of London, Royal College of Music & Drama, The Premier League and Condé Nast.

Founded by Sean Smith and Gavin Jones, Planet IT prides itself on providing a high level of client service based on a combination of industry expertise and customer care.

Mr Smith said: “We’ve built a team of fantastic IT experts, which has enabled us to consistently grow the business and offer a first-class service to our clients.

“We’ve found organisations value having one go-to IT provider to cover all their needs, rather than having to liaise with lots of different people. By combining the right mix of IT professionals and specialist technicians, and having excellent relationships with software and hardware vendors, we have been able to fulfil that demand.

“It’s a fast-moving industry, with new products and better systems continually entering the market. Keeping up to date with developments is key to ensuring our clients receive the best advice and service and are offered the most appropriate solutions for their businesses.

“We help clients review, install and update entire systems, source hardware and software and our team acts as a fully functional outsourced IT department for organisations around the clock.”

Planet IT originated in 2003 when Mr Smith and Mr Jones both left jobs in the industry to join forces. Adrian Sweeney and Nick Johns complete the board of directors.

“We launched Planet IT with a founding principle of putting customers first,” said Mr Jones.

“It came out of frustration of working in organisations where customers weren’t valued highly enough.

“Sean and I met at school and both formed our first business aged 12 washing cars, which gave us a good grounding for our partnership to grow.

“We’ve maintained the original service ethos and 15 years on our customer satisfaction surveys are still returning very high scores. As the business has grown, we’ve worked to retain a personal touch, dedication to quality and value for money.”

Planet IT started in a home office and within two years moved to the Harwell Innovation Centre, before moving to its current base this year.

The team has witnessed major changes to the industry in the 15-year period.

“Advancements in IT technology has helped to transform businesses,” said Mr Jones.

“The speed and power of systems has supported growth and changed the way everyone works. More recently advancements in cloud-based technology and project management software has enabled us to help our clients make their businesses more efficient and effective.

“Cyber security has become a huge issue in the industry and we work closely with leading software vendors who constantly update products to adjust to new and more sophisticated threats from malware and hackers.”

Planet IT has supported more than 2,000 clients, in the UK, US and Europe. It operates in Oxford and surrounding counties and London.

Mr Smith added: “There’s been twists and turns along the way. After early strong growth we navigated our way through the recessions and more recently adapted to address changes in the industry.

“We started as product resellers, but realised overtime clients want a full service offering and so invested in building a strong team of experts which has enabled us to provide that service and access to experience that clients may not have in-house.”

The change in approach has seen Planet IT’s revenue double in the past three years and its 15th year will be a record year. Earlier this year Planet IT was crowned Sophos Partner of the Year 2018.

Mr Jones added: “Planet IT has always been about people.

“Having a great team has enabled the business to provide a great service and flourish. We’re fortunate to have a brilliant team who are the heart of the success of Planet IT.

“Investing in our team has been key to building the business, we place a great emphasis on having a vibrant, happy team culture and really value making Planet IT a place where people are respected and can develop a career.We have a business plan to continue to grow the team and our capability further, so we can continue to offer best-in-class services to clients.”