Reality is a small consultancy set up in 1994; prior to this, we all held senior technical and managerial roles within the NHS itself. We are all fully committed to the ideals of the National Health Service.

Rather than operating on the basis of making as much profit as possible, our ethos in setting up the company was to be able to offer a good quality service, while making enough money to live on comfortably - and not to become millionaires! As former NHS staff, we're well aware that the NHS is not a bottomless pit of money, and in many cases we can offer a solution at a fraction of the cost of our competitors. However, we won't put in an unrealistically low quote simply to win business - we are always honest about the effort that we think a job will entail.

The company is run co-operatively; all four of us are equal directors in the business, we are all paid at the same rate, and all our decisions are taken democratically. We formed the business as a group of friends, and remain friends after all this time! Quality of life is more important to us as individuals than making huge amounts of money, and we all like to balance our working life with plenty of leisure time, too. This also gives a direct benefit to our customers - we don't over-commit ourselves, so we always have contingency. It also means that we don't promise something we can't deliver - if our timescales don't realistically permit us to deliver a project in the time you require, we will say so up front. This may lose us some business in the short term, but it does mean that our customers return to us again and again, and in fourteen years we've never had an unsatisifed customer. Marketing is not our strong point, to be honest, and we're the first to admit we don't make successful pushy salespeople; but we've been in business a long time, and most of our new customers are on the basis of word of mouth recommendations from existing customers. We enjoy working with people, and this reflects in the excellent working relationships that each of us has with our customers. We are very proud of our track record, and that all our projects have been delivered on time and within budget.

We think our philosophy makes us very different from most other consultancies:

• We offer fixed-price quotes, allowing you to budget effectively
• We do not tie customers down to fixed-term contracts: if a site needs to put a project on hold, we do not charge for “idle time” – you pay only for the work we deliver
• Our knowledge of NHS IT means that any initial learning curve is usually far quicker than with contractors or other suppliers, which means we can pass these cost savings on to you, the customer
• We produce clearly-defined Service Level Agreements, so you can see exactly what you are getting
• We offer follow-up support contracts where appropriate, so you are not left with a system you cannot maintain
• We work as a team – so deadlines do not slip because of unexpected staff illness, or contractors leaving for another job
• We use technology to maintain a virtual office, reducing administrative overhead costs, and allowing us to offer a very competitive quote
• We are environmentally aware, and strive to reduce the impact of our business on the environment - for example, by teleworking, recycling and minimising the use of paper
• We keep ethical considerations in mind when choosing our suppliers
• We pride ourselves on our work, and in delivering high-quality solutions at a realistic price