Our Journey

Over 40 years in business and now a leading provider of business software, IT solutions and cyber security. There’s not many IT companies that have kept pace with the developments of the IT industry like we have. From humble beginnings selling typewriters, we are now a leading provider of cutting-edge technology to over 1,000 UK businesses. We hope you agree our history is a fascinating read.

    • 1976
      Paul Byrne
      Founder
      Paul

      The OGL Computer story begins

      Paul Byrne, our Managing Director, formed Oliquip, with support from his wife, Pam. The company was set up to sell Olivetti typewriters and accounting machines.

  • 1980s
    • 1980
      Neil Morris
      Commercial Director
      Neil

      Neil Morris comes on board

      Neil Morris, our Commercial Director, joined Oliquip with the promise of a Ford Capri company car, very sought after in those days! Paul and Neil formed a formidable team and quickly gathered a number of happy customers across the Midlands.

    • 1983
      Phil Hawkes
      Software Development Consultant
      Kevin Crowe
      Systems Sales Consultant
      Phil and Kevin

      Welcome Phil & Kevin

      Our team continued to grow with the recruitment of Phil Hawkes, who is still our Chief Software Development Consultant today, and Kevin Crowe, an integral part of our current Systems Sales team.

    • 1984
      First Software Program
      Written by Phil
      First-software-programme

      Our first software program was born

      Oliquip’s first business accounting software program was written and developed by Phil.

    • 1986
      Comberton Hill
      in Kidderminster
      Office Moves

      Office moves galore

      As we continued to grow, we made a number of office moves during the 80s, including several stops in Kidderminster before ending the decade at premises in Hartlebury.

    • 1989
      Debbie Barton
      Operations Director
      A family affair

      A family affair

      At the end of the decade, Paul’s eldest daughter, Debbie, joined the business where today she heads up our Software Division. Over recent years, she’s also been joined by her younger sisters (Sam & Kate) who have taken up various roles in the family business.

  • 1990s
    • 1990 – 50 employees!

      Getting serious

      By the start of the 90s, Oliquip had achieved recognition as a professional software house, installing our own software at sizeable, multi-user sites.

    • 1993
      Modern Technology
      OGL signs up with HP
      Hello OGL

      Goodbye Oliquip, hello OGL

      The boom in modern computing hit in the mid-90s and Olivetti’s products were superseded. Customer demand for new, modern technology from emerging IT giants led Paul to form a new partnership with HP. To mark this next phase in our journey, he decided to rename the Company “OGL Computer”.

    • 1994
      OGL Partners
      HP and Microsoft
      OGL Forges Ahead

      OGL Computer forges ahead

      OGL’s partnerships with HP and other IT giants such as Microsoft strengthens our position in the market as we install cutting-edge technology into businesses across the Midlands.

    • 1995
      Ashok Patel
      Financial Director
      Ashok Joins

      Ashok joins the team

      Ashok Patel, our Financial Director, joins OGL to offer his financial expertise as the Company continues to go from strength to strength.

    • 1997
      OGL Expands
      to Kidderminster
      OGL Expands

      Expansion

      We acquire new premises in Kidderminster where our IT Solutions, Cyber Security and Central Services divisions are currently located.

    • 1998
      profIT
      propels OGL forward
      prof.IT propels OGL forwards

      ProfIT propels OGL forward again

      ProfIT, the predecessor to today’s successful prof.ITplus software, was launched and embraced by the hundreds of businesses who bought it.

    • 1999 – 100 employees!
  • 2000s
    • Relief all round

      Our extensive preparation pays off and the Millennium Bug passes without a hitch.

      2000
    • A smart, new Head Office

      The newly acquired Stourport-on-Severn site becomes the Company’s Head Office where our Software division is located today.

      2001
      OGL’s new Head Office
      Stourport-on-Severn
      £5 Million turnover
    • 2004
      prof.ITplus
      launched
      prof.IT plus arrives

      prof.ITplus is launched

      Following a significant period of development, prof.ITplus, was released to market. Many of our customers upgraded from ProfIT to prof.ITplus and were delighted with the new features and power of the new system.

    • 2005
      Paul Colwell
      Technical Director
      Mr Colwell

      Paul Colwell arrives at OGL

      Paul Colwell, with his extensive technical pedigree, joins the team to spearhead the Company’s technical advancements and develop our suite of IT Solutions and use of cloud technology.

    • Up into the cloud

      OGL starts using a local Data Centre to host customer data – our first foray into providing cloud services to complement the traditional IT services we’d been providing since the 90s.

      2008
      Data Centre
      hosting data
      OGL Cloud
  • 2010s
    • 2010
      prof.ITplus
      grows
      profITplus grows

      prof.ITplus grows

      More features and functionality are added to prof.ITplus, making it one of the leading Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems on the market.

    • 2011
      OGL's Data Centre
      expands
      OGL Cloud

      Investment, investment, investment

      Significant investment was put into our own infrastructure to allow us to deliver best-in-class solutions utilising ever-developing cloud technology and virtualisation products.

    • 2014
      Dinner & Dance
      party

      Party!

      Our annual Staff Awards were launched to celebrate the enormous contribution our staff make to the success of our Company.

    • 2015 – Over 250 employees
    • 2016
      40 years in
      business
      OGL turns 40

      40 years in business celebrated

      We held a number of events and competitions for our staff and customers to celebrate our 40th birthday.

    • 2017
      CyberGuard Technologies
      is launched
      CyberGuard Tech

      Cyber security services launched

      CyberGuard Technologies (our new cyber security division) is introduced to expand OGL’s portfolio and complement our IT Solutions and Business Software divisions.