Our software is ideal for managers on move

6:37pm Wednesday 2nd July 2008

Comments (0)   Have your say »

A BUSINESSMAN who describes himself as a "67-year-old-timer" worked with a teenage computer whizz-kid to create a software programme which will be marketed to companies around the UK and beyond.

Travel publisher Ian Green had no experience of working in the IT business, but was unable to find a task management system which suited his needs.

In November 2005, he gave his software manager Adam Mason, now 21, the job of devising a suitable system. "It worked so well for us I decided to market it to other businesses," said Ian.

Ian's original business, CPL, based in Southchurch, prints maps, events guides and magazines for almost 100 tourist information centres scattered around the UK. The complexities of running a team of 35 salesmen and other staff, and keeping up with commissioning, printing and proofing, required an effective task management system.

"We need something which keeps us up to speed with what's due, what's happening, and which we can access from the office, on the road or from a hotel room anywhere in Britain," said Ian. "But we couldn't find the programme that we needed for a price that was right."

"In all the programmes we found you had to do what the software designer decided you should do, not what you wanted to do. So Adam and I started from scratch, decided what we needed, and put it together. I was able to apply 35 years of management experience. Adam, who was mending computers when he was ten, supplied the technical invention.

"We decided that it was too good to keep to ourselves."

Ian claims that the software could save the lives of many small companies as the world plunges into hard economic times. "It can create crucial efficiencies for them in areas such as time and fuel costs,' he said.

"Normally you can't run a company from a distance unless you have sparklingly good managers, which most small companies can't afford. This software allows you to stay in control."

Go to www.digitalsoftware.com