React Computer Partnership in Woodbridge was established 25 years ago by brothers Francis, Richard and Alan Pledger who, with their combined backgrounds in sales and IT, felt confident in making the leap to start their own business.

“We all had an ambition that we’d like to work for ourselves at some point,” said Francis. “So, we just decided in 1996 that we would give it a go.”

After months of research and planning, React Computer Partnership officially launched on January 1, 1997.

“It was a very different landscape back then as far as IT was concerned!” Francis said, with the implementation of dial-up internet and email the key IT concerns for businesses at the turn of the millennium.

Although technology has come on leaps and bounds since then, and React Computer Partnership along with it, at its core the business’s offering has remained largely unchanged.

“We pride ourselves on offering a more consultative approach,” said Francis. “We work with businesses to create efficient IT processes that can assist in saving time, money and stress.

“We will effectively become a company's IT department. So, they might have a network of 30 or 40 PCs and we can present them with four technicians and an account manager or project manager.”

The family-run business has seen continual growth in its 25 years, with sister Penny appointed as office manager early on and five other staff members joining since.

It now provides a wealth of services to help modern businesses improve their IT systems, from installation and IT support to cyber security, document management and cloud computing support.

Partnerships with vendors including Fujitsu, DocuWare and more ensure that advanced support is available quickly and efficiently if needed.

As a Silver Competency Microsoft Partner, React can help customers utilise the full capability of Microsoft products.

“We’ve always tried to understand customers,” said Francis. "They tell us what they want to do and how they want things to work, and we can get the IT put in place to allow them to do that.”

IT is crucial to so many aspects of modern business, particularly with the rise of remote working brought about by the pandemic, and technical issues can bring everything to a grinding halt.

Regular training and specialist knowledge means that the team at React are well-equipped to deliver a high-quality service.

The company’s CARE initiative underpins its support services and ensures that customers can expect courtesy, availability, resolution and efficiency when they contact the team. All staff are also empowered to take the necessary steps to resolve any issue without having to wait for approval.

“Our dad had this phrase, which was if you're going to do something, either do it properly or don't do it,” said Francis. “That's something that we've taken to heart running the business.”

React has been recognised for its commitment with multiple accolades over the years. As well as being a past winner at the EADT Business Awards, it also won the Innovation Award at the Suffolk Coastal Business and Community Awards 2016 and Family Business of the Year at the East of England FSB Celebrating Small Business Awards 2019.

“Winning the awards in themselves is nice,” said Francis. “But it also verifies to us that we do know what we're doing and we're doing it well.

"We've always tried to grow the company organically,” he added. “In the last couple of years there’s been a huge shift in technology, which is great for businesses. We’re always learning and aiming to keep up to date so that we can support businesses in East Anglia and help streamline their processes.”

For more on React Computer Partnership, please visit www.reactcp.co.uk