Uckfield firm celebrates its tenth anniversary

Uckfield web design and development business Blue Planet Internet Solutions is celebrating its tenth anniversary this year.

The company plans to mark the occasion with a networking party in town next month.

Invitations are going out to about 70 businesses to join the Blue Planet team, led by managing director Mark Vaesen, at the event at The Hop Barn, just off Uckfield High Street.

Mark, who is pictured above, is looking forward to bringing clients and friends together on the evening of Friday, February 25.

“I think many will find they have a lot in common and may be able to do business together,” he said.

New premises

This is a big year for Blue Planet. As well as celebrating the special anniversary the company, which has grown steadily since it was formed, is planning a move to new premises.

Mark said they already had offices in mind but still needed to finalise arrangements.

Blue Planet was founded, in 2001, by Mark and his father Paul, an IT consultant who was increasingly being asked by clients if he could build websites.

Paul was an expert programmer and Mark was creative and so they made a good team.

Mark’s office was a corner of his living room. “You hear of many people setting up a business in a spare room but we didn’t have a spare room. We found the money to buy a computer and went from there.”

Hundreds of websites

Since then Blue Planet has designed and maintains hundreds of websites which have grown in complexity as technology has improved.

Five people now work in the business and while Paul Vaesen remains a director he is no longer involved in the day-to-day running of it.

Mark, aged 34, is married to Nikki and they have two children Holly, 7, and Emily, 4. The family lives in Eastbourne, having lived for a time in Framfield Road, Uckfield, and then in the village of Framfield, but is now considering moving back to the Uckfield area. “We both like it here,” said Mark.

Some Blue Planet clients still seek comparatively simple brochure sites but most have database-drive management systems incorporated so they make updates themselves when they want.

Some client’s sites even feed into back-office systems which have revolutionised the way they work.

Secure intranets

Secure intranets go a step further. The most complex built by Blue Planet is for a firm employing many people working away from the office. Staff share documents online and the website communicates via text with people on the road notifying them of new appointments and the availability of paperwork.

Blue Planet started in Hove but moved to Uckfield nine years ago. It has been based at 39a New Town since then, starting in one office then moving to a bigger office in January 2008.

Mark is excited about this anniversary year and looking forward to the next ten years. The new premises will give more room and make it easier to expand again when the time is right.

“I find it hard to believe it is ten years since we started the business. We have seen a lot of changes in that time and I am enjoying the business now probably more than ever,” said Mark.

Business profile: Blue Planet Internet Solutions