From Digital Support to
In the ever-evolving world of digital design and Macintosh wizardry, there was once a small yet ambitious company known as Digital Support. This remarkable enterprise began its journey by offering Mac operators, art workers, Mac development, and training services. They were the unsung heroes behind the glossy magazines and captivating advertisements that graced screens and pages worldwide.
Digital Support was more than just a Mac service provider; they were pioneers in a world dominated by Adobe Design Suite and Quark. What set them apart, however, was their unique expertise in languages. They had a reputation for seamlessly supplying language-based temp workers capable of handling projects in Russian, Greek, Chinese, and more.
Yet, amidst their success, Digital Support encountered a formidable challenge. The demand for Russian, Greek, or Chinese typesetters frequently outstripped their supply. As their reputation for excellence in multilingual design grew, the inability to meet this demand became a significant stumbling block.
But, as they say, necessity is the mother of invention. Faced with this linguistic conundrum, Digital Support embarked on a journey of innovation and transformation. Their talented team huddled together, brainstormed tirelessly, and invested their passion into creating a solution that would change the game.
The result was nothing short of magical: PointandGoLocalise. This groundbreaking software empowered anyone to tackle Chinese, Russian, Greek, or any language, ensuring not only accuracy but also page-perfect results. Gone were the days of fretting over language errors, as this software pointed them out and rectified them, making it a lifeline for perfectionists and language enthusiasts alike.
Digital Support underwent a profound transformation, reborn as StorePoint International Ltd. They were no longer merely Mac operators and trainers; they had become the foremost authority in localisation for in-store printing. In fact, SPI even created a software package that allowed Tesco to produce Store-specific POS. The brief was to allow staff, at store level, to produce POS (point of sale), as easily as it was to go to the cash machine and get out cash. The system was, of course, multilingual.
Their leap into the world of POS content. StorePoint International. As it happened, they created and delivered an in-store POS printing system for Tesco Extra Stores. This system was nothing short of a game-changer. With a double-click installer and a consumables model, it rapidly scaled to be installed in a staggering 370 Tesco Extra Stores
Evolution
As print inevitably diminished, SPI morphed yet again into web-based publishing and digital with its system (PointandGo) PAGL moving to HTML, XML, Word/PDF, and HTML5. Executional management, once again, saw that moving higher up the food chain, by becoming a language service business, meant SPI got the content and the setting.
So, what led to their evolution from a Mac operator to a million-pound multilingual marvel — Managed Language? Here are the golden rules they followed:
- Follow the Money: In the world of business, one must always follow the money. Managed Language discerned where their expertise was in high demand and seized the opportunity. They honed their skills and became masters of multilingual content.
- Seek Repetition and Volume: Learning from the mobile phone model, Managed Language found a niche where repetition and volume were the keys to success. They discovered that businesses across the globe needed consistent, high-quality multilingual content and positioned themselves to meet this ever-growing demand.
But the journey didn’t end there. Managed Language’s success story echoed in another realm as well. What began as a project turned into a thriving business that exemplified the saying, “making money while you sleep.”
The journey from Digital Support to StorePoint International and finally to Managed Language is a testament to the power of adaptation, innovation, and seizing opportunities. They went from being a small player in the Macintosh world to global players in the multilingual content space.
So, the next time you’re crafting content in languages you don’t understand or strolling through the web, remember the incredible evolution of Managed Language. In the world of business, there’s always room for growth and expansion, as this remarkable company has proven time and again.
