Huddersfield based business telephones and IT system specialists Direct Voice and Data are celebrating 30 years in business.
Established in 1984 following the deregulation of the telecoms market, the company started life as “Dial-In Telephones” with a shop in Huddersfield town centre.
Within a year, the company was rapidly expanding, offering complete business system solutions through what was to become a long-standing partnership with Panasonic. This diversification in the business prompted the owners to change the company name to “Dial-In Communications” and relocate to new offices in Leeds in 1986.
Becoming firmly established as a business systems supplier, the company’s partnership with Panasonic grew and in 1987 Dial-In Communications became a limited trading company and again changed its name to “Direct Telecom”.
Further relocations brought the company back to Huddersfield and eventually to its existing head office location in what previously the Skelmanthorpe Liberal Club.
Meanwhile, following the deregulation of the market, changes to the telecommunications industry were rapidly taking place: Oftel was established; BT’s monopoly on the supply of payphones was ended; mobile phone operators began to enter the marketplace; the national numbering scheme was introduced changing regional telephone codes and freephone numbers; itemised billing was introduced; and the structure of call-charges was thoroughly scrutinised and amended.
In this ever-changing marketplace, Direct Telecom continued to develop and grow. Expanding its portfolio of services further, 1999 brought the sale of their first Network Alchemy system – the forerunner to the current IP office solutions. A relationship with Alcatel-Lucent phone systems was then established in 2003 with Direct Telecom becoming an approved reseller of these innovative systems.
In 2005, the company was bought by father and son, Kevin Henderson and Dave Henderson. Keen to expand the company’s product range even further, they ensured that strong foundations were in place to deliver a strong IT Support offering to the market and, as such, rebranded and re-launched the company in 2010 as “Direct Voice and Data”.
Today the family run company provides local businesses with complete solutions including business telephone systems, IT solutions, broadband and business mobile phones, plus a range of technical support services including data cabling, electrical contracting, AV equipment and security systems.
The company continues to work in partnership with Panasonic and Alcatel-Lucent telephone systems, and also with global communications provider Avaya as well as the leading suppliers in the IT sector including Microsoft, AVG, HP and Dell. Direct Voice & Data’s own in-house engineers provide full UK coverage and as far afield as New York, USA.
Customer Support Engineer, David Sykes, has been with the company since its inauguration in 1984 and has continued his employment through the many changes and developments. On the company celebrating its 30th anniversary, David commented, “I am incredibly proud to have worked with the company since the very beginning and have watched with great interest how it has developed and grown. With the portfolio of products and services that Direct Voice and Data now offer, businesses are now able to fulfil their complete telecoms and IT requirements from a single supplier, backed up with technical maintenance and support to help their operations run smoothly.”
Direct Voice and Data’s Managing Director Dave Henderson is delighted to be celebrating the company’s 30th birthday and looks forward to another 30 years of success. He said, “Since taking over the running of the company in 2005, we have continued to develop our range of services and build valuable relationships with suppliers to ensure our customers stay up-to-date with the latest technology. Reaching our 30th birthday is testament to our ability to keep changing with the times and to our hardworking team who have helped build close working relationships with local and national customers, earning us a reputation to be proud of.”
More information on Direct Voice and Data can be found by visiting the website – www.direct-voiceanddata.co.uk
