Enterprise Hub Network - Case History
Canterbury Enterprise Hub
David Butler
purelabs
Company Background
Increasingly busy in a publishing career that spanned nearly 20 years, Jon Barrett began looking around for software that would help with planning and management of individual periodicals, and found that there was nothing available with the right features, and at the right price. Pen and paper, and spreadsheets, were still the tools of choice in most publishing businesses, both large and small.
Jon and wife Michelle decided they would devise their own system, despite having no knowledge of software development – so they set up purelabs (Publishing Research Laboratories Ltd) in Lenham, and contacted the University of Kent to look for suitable software developers. They also joined the Canterbury Enterprise Hub to make use of their contacts, realising that finding the right development partners was critical to the success of the venture.
Three years on, the result is the world’s first pay-as-you-go, internet-based publication management system, which was officially launched at Publishing Expo in London, in February 2008, following an extensive period of development and testing in media houses around the world. The system, Intelligent Flatplan, offers publishers the opportunity to replace paper, spreadsheet or DTP-based flatplans with an internet-based planning system that enables every user on the publication team to see the same view, wherever they are in the world, and whether they are using PCs or Apple Macs.
It enables flatplans to be produced quickly, with regular items automatically transferred from issue to issue, and nominated advertising positions locked to eliminate costly errors. Ongoing progress can be added to the flatplan rapidly, and made available for all to see.
The cost savings and productivity benefits for media houses are huge and, four months after launch, there were already 200-plus publishers worldwide using the system, either in trial, free, or pay-as-you-go mode.
Work with the Enterprise Hub
purelabs joined the Canterbury Enterprise Hub in 2005, using its contacts to help in finding like-minded software developers who understood the vision. After a protracted process, a team was found in Battle and, whilst they remain independent, they have a stake in the purelabs business. Now, Jon writes the design brief, and they work towards making that a reality.
The Enterprise Hub helped purelabs to access finance both at the start of the process and as time has progressed, including:
- GRIST (Great Ideas in Science and Technology) Funding from SEEDA, to help with initial start-up costs, and offer additional support with development of a business plan, mentoring and access to university facilities
- Technology Strategy Board (TSB) funding to help with ongoing development and commercialisation
In addition Enterprise Hub director David Butler has provided continuous support and advice on all aspects of business management including sales and marketing, training, and networking.
The Hub also introduced purelabs to a specialist software developer under the Merlin Mentors programme, which has given Jon an expert sounding board for ideas and issues over the 18 months prior to the product’s official launch.
purelabs’ managing director Jon Barrett said: “Without Canterbury Enterprise Hub the Intelligent Flatplan system would not exist. The Hub has helped us to access all the practical things we needed to get the business moving, from finance to skilled workers. It has also been generous with advice and moral support and has provided an ever-available sounding board, so that we can think issues through thoroughly and move forward confidently from a solid base.”
Canterbury Enterprise Hub director David Butler said: “The Intelligent Flatplan service was a no-brainer right from the start but it took Jon’s drive, determination and market knowledge to make it happen. It has the potential to become the industry standard in the UK, and we hope that the Hub’s overseas contacts can offer Jon some good export opportunities as well”.
What’s next
Working towards expanding the market for Intelligent Flatplan, and for creating add-on facilities, Jon Barrett has been researching the way forward and has found that the purelabs business model puts the company ahead of many much larger organisations. By focusing on what they do best – flat planning – and building an ecosystem of developers and other suppliers around them to offer additional services, purelabs is in the best possible position to drive ahead.
Using the recently obtained TSB funding purelabs is working to translate its system into other languages, so that the product can be marketed to publishing houses in the non-English speaking world.
