Newly founded software and game development company Arc Studios has come a long way since its members left The University of Hull. What originated as an idea in a humble student bedroom has now grown to eight employees and many satisfied clients.
Their software development work was recently recognised at the Digital Awards 2016, with Arc winning Best Digital Start Up, but the group is now keen to get back to its gaming roots. We met up with Aaron, one of its cofounders, to find out exactly how they intend to do that.
“After graduating in 2014, we had the idea of starting up our own games development company,” said Aaron. “We would each work part-time to fund it, spending a few days a week concentrating on the game.”
However, after beginning work at the C4DI, designing unique software for a range of businesses, the graduates soon found that they were a little too busy to focus on game development: “We began designing and building bespoke solutions to enable businesses to become more effective and efficient, and it really just escalated from there.”
This is where the idea for their new piece of software PARC comes in: “PARC will empower individuals and brands to design and build their own cloud-based databases, whether you’re Betty who owns a cake shop, or the HR Director of a large corporation,” enthuses Aaron. The thinking behind PARC came from the team trying to make their own lives easier, as well as wanting to free up time to develop their game.
“The cloud-based system will give users access to their data from anywhere in the world. It could be used for stocktaking, collection of sales, analytics – anything you want.”
The system will not only make collaborative projects run more smoothly, but also offer users a chance to tailor it to their specific needs. Still in its very early stages, the software will eventually help to streamline operations to become more productive, effective and efficient.
“Currently the only option out there is Microsoft Access, which only allows people to build databases that are local to their machines. In other words, they’re not shareable.” By contrast, PARC’s cloud capability will enable data to be accessed anywhere, on any device.
“It means that we will be able to sell the PARC software to all sorts of organisations, who can then create their own bespoke database system. In turn, this will cut down our workload enough to allocate time for developing our game.”
The C4DI has acted as a major player in the company’s success: “We’re so lucky to be based here at the C4DI,” adds Aaron. “Just being in the building has given us the opportunity to work with new clients. My advice to all members is to be collaborate and network, make use of the people around you.”
To find out more about Arc Studios’ app and software development services, please visit www.arcstudios.net
