Mark Thomas, after a lifelong ambition to make Ipswich and Suffolk a place where the tech sector can flourish, created a company based on five core values with a vision to accelerate growth in the local area.
Since formation in 1998, Coderus has been on a trajectory to success. How? By following a strategy based on dedication and hard work.
Our growth story is based on a series of actions and initiatives that helped Coderus both expand and raise its brand awareness. Through prudential management of finance, with support from accountants and business mentors, Mark invested potential profit in growing the business, and in so doing, avoided loans, retaining 100% equity. In 2017, our 19th year, by securing sources of funding including the Small Grant Scheme from the Local Enterprise Partnership, plus grants from the Department for International Trade and Keep +, as well as through our relationships with East Suffolk Councils, we’ve collectively managed to set and achieve our goals.
Talent
Over the last five years, we’ve increased our team over to 25 staff – with a corresponding increase in office premises. Based among over 100 hi-tech businesses at Adastral Park, Coderus has one of the largest on-site teams in the Innovation Martlesham cluster. By employing experienced staff, we manage not only to accept but to overcome challenging projects in multiple tech sectors.
Partnerships
Quality underpins growth and a major part of our story has been achieving the combined ISO 9001 & 27001 accreditations. The robust information management processes that we follow has enabled strong connections with world-leading corporations such as Cypress & Qualcomm, on top of our long-term partnership with Microchip. As a result, we’ve gained prestigious Design Service Partnerships for embedded hardware solutions, the evidence of which is published on our website. This has seen Coderus extend our client base and work on innovative projects – with the addition of new clients being just the beginning.
Education
We love working with graduates and invest heavily into the community to engage with the brightest talent. For example, we’ve put on free Live Streams, sponsored by Coderus, to showcase the latest innovations from Google and Apple for four consecutive years, with the most recent ‘I/O extended’ seeing a record turnout with 200 registrations. We also promote an open-door approach to schools that wish to learn what life inside a tech company is like, and are regular contributors to the active sessions during British Science Week here at Adastral Park.
By attending career fairs at Universities, we aim not only to raise our brand awareness, but also to inform students about the tech sector and find suitable candidates to join our growing team.
When it comes to engaging with the community, we’re not shy to take the initiative. Last year, we introduced our Meet & Greet – with pizza! session at the University of Suffolk, where we had informal, friendly chats with students interested in Coderus and tech in general.
Meetups
Despite how busy life at Coderus can be, we always try to make time to support local meetups and co-hosting important community events. One charitable organisation that we’ve been able to support, thanks to the Small Grant Scheme, is the Creative Computer Club Foundation. By producing environmentally friendly mugs, we help raise awareness and funds to support CCCF’s cause and growth.
We’ve also enhanced our marketing and events agenda, with a refreshed website, social media and e-newsletter, plus membership of TechEast, Cambridge Wireless and Enterprise Partner of the Institution of Engineering and Technology, with increased presence at their conferences and trade shows.
We are committed to strive for the best and help our clients and local area thrive through the tech sector. The grant support that we received, alongside our commitment, effort and time, brought measurable success and it can be beneficial to other growing companies as well. Despite this expansion, we remain loyal to our values: innovation, imagination, quality, integrity and continued learning. With these at our core, we aim to keep our strong culture, increase our company perks and build an environment where employees can thrive.
