In May 2022, we celebrated 15 years of theICEway. In 2007, our co-founders Conor Byrne and Ian Richardson set up ICE Support Ltd. ICE was soon joined by eTestware and then CRIBB Cyber Security, and an ecosystem was born. Today we look fondly at where we are now, the better part of two decades on from our inception.
Quite a lot actually! Here are several key events from each year. Hopefully they will give you a better idea of just how long a period 15 years is:
- 2007 – The disappearance of Madeleine McCann in Portugal; Gordon Brown becomes PM
- 2008 – The Russia-Georgia conflict takes place; the global financial crisis begins
- 2009 – Barack Obama becomes the 44th US President; the Bitcoin network is created
- 2010 – 33 Chilean miners are trapped underground and then rescued; William and Kate become engaged
- 2011 – Game of Thrones begins; Osama Bin Laden is killed
- 2012 – London hosts the Olympic Games; Felix Baumgartner skydives from the edge of space
- 2013 – Oscar Pistorius kills his girlfriend; Margaret Thatcher (April) and then Nelson Mandela (Dec) pass away
- 2014 – Ukrainian Revolution takes place; Luis Suarez bites Giorgio Chiellini at the World Cup finals
- 2015 – The offices of Charlie Hebdo are attacked; Jeremy Clarkson punches Top Gear producer and leaves
- 2016 – Leicester City win the Premier League; Donald Trump wins the US election
- 2017 – The Westminster Bridge terror attack takes place; the Grenfell tower block fire occurs
- 2018 – Prince Harry marries Meghan Markle; GDPR comes into effect in the EU
- 2019 – Donald Trump is impeached; ‘Brexit’ is confirmed
- 2020 – COVID-19 (enough said)
- 2021 – COVID-19 vaccines arrive; Joe Biden becomes the US President
- 2022 – Russia invades Ukraine; Queen Elizabeth II passes
First came ICE in 2007 as a Managed Service Provider in the UK. ‘ICE Support Ltd.’, as it was then known, also delivered IT / Technology consultancy plus IT support and more. The team worked across a variety of different industries but quickly demonstrated a particular aptitude for cruise. Many of the original members had a history in the cruise industry, so this was certainly no surprise. It is also something that we have nurtured and grown as theICEway ecosystem has developed. Indeed, we have become very well known as a result of our work for many different cruise lines. Different offices around the world were soon added, around Europe and in Australia, as our brand began to gather real momentum. It was becoming clear to co-founders Conor Byrne and Ian Richardson that expansion wasn’t so much an aspiration as it was a necessity.
eTestware then joined ICE in 2014, having begun life in Estonia. Much of our work revealed that software testing was much more than a ‘nice to have’. Instead, complex system implementations and integrations demonstrated its importance in the overall digital offering. There is no point installing an expensive IT infrastructure if it has not been tested for bugs and issues. To this day, the eTestware HQ remains in Tallinn and replete with Estonian software testers. That may not mean much at first glance but Estonia prides itself on being a digital haven. As such, children are taught about IT and technology from an early age. Read more about Estonia, the ‘Silicon Valley of Europe’.
CRIBB Cyber Security rounded out our ecosystem in 2016. It enabled us to fully embrace a security by design ethos. As an official, UK government-backed certification body, CRIBB also allowed us to help clients with schemes such as Cyber Essentials and IASME Governance. These are growing in importance, with more organisations now required to demonstrate a certain level of compliance. Our work over the years showed us that the focus on cyber security from in-house IT departments was sorely lacking. We decided to take a more proactive stance, and can now deliver a complete, end-to-end digital strategy for all our clients.
At the time of writing, we are now closer to 16 than 15! No matter though, as this time of year is all about being reflective. As we have seen, 15 years is a long time and a lot has happened. theICEway has gone through many changes but the current team stands together and firmly embraces our core values:
- IntegrityThese values have been in place since day 1 back in 2007, and they will remain in place until the end. We are privileged to have worked with some amazing people over the years. We cherish the experiences had with clients from both past and present. Here is to the next 15 years.
Here are some additional articles celebrating 15 years of theICEway.
Visit the ‘ICE is 15’ page for some fantastic testimonials from our staff!