EXPERTISE HAS A HISTORY.
A local beginning.
An ever-widening horizon.
The Old Maltings, Ashburton
Grey Matter archive / Photograph undated
01 / The beginning
1983Grey Matter opens in Ashburton, Devon, supplying specialist software to developers.
Software arrives on floppy disks. Expertise helps customers put it to work. The converted Old Maltings becomes the starting point for a much bigger story.
Sources 01, 02, 0302 / An Irish connection begins
1991DataSolutions begins its own journey in Ireland.
The specialist distributor builds relationships with technology vendors and resellers. Its independent story will join Climb's more than three decades later.
Sources 1403 / A new route to market
2003Sigma Software Distribution is founded, bringing specialist software to the reseller channel.
Grey Matter serves developers and end customers. Sigma builds the distribution side of the story, connecting vendors with resellers across the UK and EMEA.
Sources 04, 05, 0704 / Expertise grows
2009Grey Matter launches a dedicated team for independent software vendors.
Following its appointment as an Embarcadero Master Reseller in 2008, Grey Matter brings licensing specialists together to support the businesses that create software.
Sources 0105 / Beyond the software licence
2015Cloud Know How launches as Grey Matter's technical services division.
Grey Matter also becomes a Microsoft Cloud Solution Provider. The year brings another organisational milestone: CDF Group Ltd is incorporated in April.
Sources 01, 15, 0606 / A more connected business
2018GMCirrus launches as Grey Matter's cloud marketplace.
Sigma adds its Reseller Gateway in 2019, giving partners a self-service quoting route. Software, cloud subscriptions and specialist support are becoming increasingly connected.
Sources 01, 0907 / November / A global connection
2020Wayside Technology Group acquires CDF Group, the UK parent of Grey Matter, Sigma and Cloud Know How.
Wayside already owns Climb Channel Solutions. The acquisition brings the UK businesses' software, distribution and cloud expertise into a wider international group.
Sources 07, 0808 / 5 July / A new name
2021Sigma Software Distribution rebrands as Climb Channel Solutions UK.
The first UK Climb identity keeps a touch of Sigma purple. Sigma Cloud becomes Climb Expedition. The name changes; the existing relationships continue.
Sources 0909 / 11 April / Across the Atlantic
2022TechXtend in the US and Canada adopts the Grey Matter name.
The teams had joined the Grey Matter family in October 2021. Ireland is also part of the wider story before DataSolutions: the archived Cloud Know How site already offered an Irish contact route in January 2021, and Grey Matter records an Irish team in 2023.
Sources 11, 10, 0210 / 31 October / The parent follows
2022Wayside Technology Group becomes Climb Global Solutions.
The listed parent adopts the Climb name and the CLMB ticker. Earlier that August, UK distributor Spinnakar joined the group, adding cloud, storage, security and data-management expertise.
Sources 13, 1211 / 10 May / Four decades
2023Grey Matter celebrates its 40th anniversary, with teams in the UK, Ireland, the US and Canada.
The original converted maltings is still its headquarters. The UK legal company has changed its name to Climb Global Solutions Ltd, but Grey Matter continues as a customer-facing brand.
Sources 02, 03, 1912 / 9 October announcement / Ireland
2023Climb announces its completed acquisition of DataSolutions.
The Ireland-based distributor brings more than 30 years of experience, deep reseller relationships and complementary technologies across the Irish and UK markets.
Sources 1413 / 10 October / The next chapter in services
2023Cloud Know How becomes Climb Global Services.
Eight years after launch, the technical services team takes the Climb name. Its next chapter includes 24/7 coverage and an expanding range of migration, modernisation and managed services.
Sources 1514 / 6 September / Coming together
2024DataSolutions rebrands to Climb Channel Solutions.
Following the announcement of a unified global Climb logo in May, the September rebrand brings DataSolutions' UK and Irish distribution story under the Climb identity.
Sources 17, 1615 / THE STORY TODAY
UK & IRELANDFrom an Ashburton software specialist to three complementary identities within Climb Global Solutions.
Connecting technology vendors and resellers. Carrying the Sigma and DataSolutions histories forward.
Software and cloud expertise for developers, independent software vendors and technology-led businesses.
The technical services story that began as Cloud Know How. Migration, modernisation and management.
Contemporary announcements, company records and preserved websites. Opening dates, acquisition announcements and rebrands are kept distinct. Research reviewed through 5 September 2026.
Photographs are undated archival images. Brand artwork is historical or current, used illustratively; an image is not evidence of the year a logo was first introduced.
Full research ledger
Grey Matter / 2023
Opening in Ashburton in 1983; developer software supplied on floppy disks; Embarcadero Master Reseller in 2008; ISV team in 2009; Cloud Know How and Microsoft CSP in 2015; GMCirrus in 2018.
The anniversary timeline calls 1983 the incorporation year. Companies House records incorporation in 1982. This story uses 1983 for the opening of the business, supported by the anniversary announcement. Its 2020 reference to Climb Global Solutions is retrospective: the acquirer was then named Wayside Technology Group.
Grey Matter / 2023-05-10
The business opened in 1983. The original converted maltings remained its headquarters at the 40th anniversary. Teams in Ireland, the USA and Canada are explicitly recorded in 2023.
Used to establish the documented international presence, not to assign an unverified opening date to an Irish office. The photographs in the anniversary archive are not individually dated.
Companies House / Reviewed 5 September 2026
Incorporated on 12 October 1982; named Grey Matter Limited from 3 December 1982 to 13 February 2023; now Climb Global Solutions Ltd.
This is the UK legal company. It is distinct from the US-listed parent Climb Global Solutions, Inc. A legal name change does not mean that the Grey Matter trading brand ended.
Sigma Software Distribution / ResponseSource / 2018-02-01
Sigma's own press release explicitly dates its founding to 2003 and describes its software distribution role in the UK and EMEA.
A company-issued release, independently hosted. Do not confuse this business with other companies named Sigma Software.
Sigma Software Distribution / Internet Archive / 2018-01-09
The contemporary site describes growth since 2003 and its reseller and vendor relationships. Its footer uses company number 1671407, the Grey Matter legal entity.
The date is the archive capture date, not the page's original publication date. This capture also documents the historic Sigma identity.
Companies House / Reviewed 5 September 2026
The Ashburton-based CDF Group Ltd was incorporated on 23 April 2015.
The register also records dissolution on 17 January 2023. The story does not treat CDF as a continuing 2026 brand or infer an acquisition date from incorporation alone. This is not the unrelated CDF Group company incorporated in 2024.
Wayside Technology Group / 2020-11-09
Announces the completed acquisition of CDF, the UK parent of Grey Matter, Sigma Software Distribution and Cloud Know How. Explains the complementary reseller, distribution and services capabilities.
9 November is the announcement date. The narrative says November 2020 and does not present the announcement as the precise legal closing date. Wayside was already the parent of Climb Channel Solutions.
Grey Matter / 2020-11-18
Corroborates Grey Matter and CDF joining Wayside, including the cloud marketplace, professional services and expanded international reach.
This local announcement was published after the parent's 9 November announcement.
Climb Channel Solutions UK / 2021-07-05
Sigma becomes Climb Channel Solutions UK. The initial UK Climb identity retains Sigma purple. The article also dates Reseller Gateway to 2019 and explains that Sigma Cloud becomes Climb Expedition.
The rebrand preserves the existing company number and working relationships. Asset upload dates on the migrated site are not the event dates.
Cloud Know How / Internet Archive / 2021-01-23
Documents the original services brand, a separate Irish contact route, and Cloud Know How's status as a trading entity of Grey Matter Limited before DataSolutions joined the group.
An Irish contact route establishes a service presence, not a date for opening an Irish office. The capture date is not the brand's founding date.
Grey Matter / 2022-04-11
The US and Canadian reseller adopts the Grey Matter name after joining the Grey Matter family in October 2021. Expands Grey Matter's solutions and services presence in North America.
An internal group integration and rebrand, not a new 2022 acquisition by Grey Matter. It does not establish the first-ever US sale or presence.
Wayside Technology Group / 2022-08-18
The body announces the completed acquisition of UK-based Spinnakar, adding cloud, storage, security and data-management distribution capabilities.
The original 2022 announcement takes precedence over a 2024 retrospective that gives 2021. Despite the future-tense headline, the release body says the acquisition is complete.
Wayside Technology Group / 2022-10-27
The corporate rebrand and Nasdaq ticker CLMB take effect on 31 October 2022. Grey Matter, Climb Channel Solutions and Cloud Know How are listed as business units.
27 October is the announcement; 31 October is the effective date. This is the US parent's rebrand, distinct from the UK company's February 2023 legal name change.
Climb Global Solutions / 2023-10-09
Records DataSolutions' history since 1991 and announces the completed acquisition of the Ireland-based distributor serving Irish and UK resellers.
The release body confirms completion despite the future-tense title. 9 October is used as the announcement date, not an asserted legal closing date. DataSolutions had an independent history before joining Climb.
Grey Matter / 2023-10-10
Cloud Know How becomes Climb Global Services after eight years of delivering technical services. Announces 24/7 coverage and a wider range of packaged services.
This dated announcement is preferred to later undated about pages. Existing projects and company details continue through the rebrand.
Climb Channel Solutions UK / 2024-05-15
Announces a unified global Climb Channel Solutions logo.
Used only for the identity announcement. Its reference to a 2021 Spinnakar acquisition conflicts with the original 2022 release and is not repeated.
Climb Channel Solutions UK / 2024-09-06
Announces the DataSolutions rebrand and integration into Climb Channel Solutions following the October 2023 acquisition.
Growth forecasts in the original release are not presented as realised results. The site uses Climb Channel Solutions for the combined UK and Ireland distribution story.
Climb Global Solutions / Reviewed 5 September 2026
Describes Climb distribution, Grey Matter's UK and North American reseller operations, and Climb Global Services' technical services role.
Current page reviewed on 5 September 2026. This is a snapshot of the brand family, not a claim that the group has only three legal entities or that all global operations originated in Grey Matter.
Grey Matter / Reviewed 5 September 2026
Grey Matter continues as a software and cloud service provider with UK, Ireland, US and Canadian teams and an Ashburton headquarters.
Current page reviewed on 5 September 2026. Current office locations are not used to infer historical opening dates.
Climb Global Services / Reviewed 5 September 2026
Identifies the services business, its former Cloud Know How identity, and the group's distribution, reseller and services divisions.
Current page reviewed on 5 September 2026. The page's ticker typo is not repeated; the parent's official rebrand release specifies CLMB.
