35 years and counting for pioneering Swindon web company

A Swindon based web development company, created right at the start of the computing boom, is celebrating a phenomenal 35 years in business.

DMJ Computer Services, headed by Martin Jarvis - who jokes that he has been programming “for as long as Bill Gates” – set up the business in 1985, initially offering programming and software development services.

Under Martin’s stewardship, DMJ has evolved and now specialises in end to end website service for small businesses, from web design to hosting and aftercare, based from offices in Chiseldon. The firm has worked on hundreds of websites for everyone from dog walkers and a chateau owner, to a professional football club and a design agency which brands international airlines.

The company has weathered many storms including recessions in the 80s, 90s, 2008 and now the economic fallout from the Coronavirus pandemic, to become a strong entity with a loyal client base across the UK and more than eight other countries.

“We recognised back in the early Noughties that many smaller companies were not benefiting from quality website services because they couldn’t justify the ad hoc consultancy fees charged by specialists, nor were they able to justify the expense of employing their own in-house staff,” said Martin. “We launched a boutique website service, aimed at delivering the quality service offered by larger companies at an affordable cost.”

Martin, who grew up in Swindon and was interested in computing from his teenage years, began his career in 1978 as a computer programmer, working first with a factoring company, then moving to Burmah Castrol and then on to Intel.

At the age of 25, with a young family, he decided to leave corporate life and set up DMJ Computer Services.

“It was a risk but when you’re in your twenties it doesn’t seem like a risk. I think it is probably a lot braver to do this when you’re in your fifties,” said Martin. “I wanted to get a better deal for my family and the gamble paid off.”

DMJ Computer Services then concentrated on project work, including programming and software development for a range of businesses, including PHH and BMW.

In the early Millennium, Martin steered DMJ towards web development for smaller business, initially building websites from scratch and then becoming an early adopter of Wordpress, which was created in 2003 originally as a blogging platform.

“I was looking at a way to build websites smarter. I predicted that all businesses were going to need a website, and at the same time realised that not every business was going to be able to afford the cost of a bespoke website. Wordpress provided the perfect solution for my clients.”

As well as web design, DMJ offers hosting and support packages for website. The websites are hosted on servers based in West London, in premises powered by 100 per cent green-source renewable energy.

Martin is now expanding DMJ’s website support packages to include a premium website spam protection product, with more benefits to come during 2020.

For more information about DMJ Computer Services, visit https://dmjcomputerservices.com/, email [email protected], or call 01793 740964.