In terms of the computer industry CMX has a long history. Formed as a company in 1972 CMX was initially producing industrial electronics for telemetry and control. Progress meant that programming and computers became an integral part of the systems supplied. The supply of computers and software side of the company grew eventually replacing telemetry as the main income.

In 1984 the company moved from Colchester town centre to a 5000 sq. ft building on the outskirts of Colchester which was home to other associated companies. It became apparent that there was no need for a town location and with the expansion of Colchester access to the A12 road became more awkward. There was also a substantial growth in the number of clients in the county of Suffolk. It was decided that CMX would move to a more convenient rural location and in 1996 the village of Ardleigh was selected as it was situated between the towns of Colchester and Ipswich.

The first personal computer systems installed were the ACT Sirius using both commercially available programs such as Pegasus and in-house produced programs. The Sirius was superseded by the Apricot which could be connected together to share information by using networks. CMX then invested in mid range mini computer systems with several terminals with a view to expanding the range of computer systems offered. At this time the personal computer was becoming more powerful and CMX was quick to see that these would challenge the larger mini computer systems such a those they were about to market. CMX used the expertise gained on the mini systems to offer terminal based central processing systems using the UNIX operating system running on personal computers which now can outperform the mini systems. In recent years the local area network and wide area networks have become an important part of the computing world and we have considerable experience in this area.

As systems were being installed in larger companies modern accounting software was needed which could cope with the special needs of this type of client who could not be catered for with Pegasus. After much investigation Multisoft was selected. Later the portfolio of accounting software was expanded with Sage Sovereign which allowed bespoke accounting solutions to be written in-house. Modems, which allow communications, remote diagnostics and wide area network systems, became an integral part of the CMX ideology when a Hayes dealership was granted. When IBM entered the PC market CMX applied for and was accepted as an IBM dealer which then replaced Apricot as the main brand for a while. The staff who attended the IBM training courses all passed with marks over 90% showing the calibre of the CMX staff.

In 2002 we made another radical change, again responding to a changing market. It was apparant that most of our business was done on clients sites and the need for a central location where everyone was based became a thing of the past. Support, installations, demonstrations and consultancy takes place where our clients work. We also decided to use the technology that we were now installing and we became decentralised. We have retained a base in Ardleigh, which is conveniently positioned between Ipswich and Colchester for somer spares and systems testing. We now have specialists working out of Colchester, Ipswich, Clacton, Chelmsford and some based in Village locations such as Ardleigh and Gt Bromley. We used centralised computer systems, broadband and telephony systems to keep in touch. We can even receive e-mail in some of the vehicles.

The last few years have seen a tremendous change in the computing industry. The growth of shops selling computer systems at low prices with little or after sales support or in some cases no pre-sales knowledge has caused the manufacturers to respond with cheaper machines of a lower quality than their names would imply. It would be possible to compete with them on price but we would be lowering our standards and supplying lower quality and less reliable equipment. We have examined equipment from a variety of sources and we have selected several suppliers in the UK who share our view of quality and service