[News]  About CC [About this site] [Gaddesden Place] [Other Acorn links]
[Home] [Product guide] [INFORMATION] [Contacting us] [Web site index] [Support & downloads]

The history of Computer Concepts

History of software development

For Computer Concepts the scale and nature of business changed fairly dramatically with the release in 1981 of a word processor called WordWise for the Acorn BBC Micro). Computer Concepts was probably the first software house to start work for the BBC which enabled the company to establish itself as the main software house in the BBC market.

Throughout the 1980s Computer Concepts sold over 200,000 programs for the BBC. These included utilities, programmers' tools and languages, but the main success was with business applications such as word processors, spreadsheets, graphics programs and databases. Computer Concepts also successfully produced programs for the Atari ST and Cambridge Computer Z88.

Computer Concepts moved to new premises in 1984. Gaddesden Place is a Grade 2 listed mansion standing in eight acres of parkland in the Hertfordshire countryside. The offices are spread over 10000 sq.ft on three floors. Leisure facilities include an indoor swimming pool, tennis court and snooker room.

Computer Concepts provides after-sales service which includes free lifetime technical support, free upgrades to new versions and a low-cost replacement service. There is also a money back guarantee for unsatisfied customers on all products - a standard of service that is relatively unusual and has gained the company a significant sales advantage.

Current software and hardware development

Success in the BBC market has formed the basis of Computer Concepts's current business. Since receiving the first Acorn Archimedes in 1987 the company has developed a range of software and hardware for this machine which has sustained its position as market leader in the Acorn world.

The emphasis has been on publishing related products. In particular the Impression range of products has become the standard for DTP software and ArtWorks is the most popular graphics illustration package in the Acorn market. This has been supported by the development of a range of direct drive laser printers and various scanning software and hardware combinations.

In 1992 Computer Concepts started to develop a wide range of multimedia and video related products, which now includes the Movie Magic MPEG card, the Lark 16-bit audio card, TV Tuner and Teletext cards and new digitisers and scanners.


© Copyright Computer Concepts: page last updated 12 Jun 1996
For more information about this site, contact webmaster@cconcepts.co.uk.