About Iansyst Limited
Iansyst was founded by Ian Litterick in early 1983 primarily to supply good value software for training and education. It began by selling the iANKEY range of typing tutors on CP/M computers. We went on to sell other third party programs, mainly about how to use computers and software, for MSDOS, PCDOS and then Windows.
In 1994 we were distributing the Monologue Text to Speech Synthesis software from First Byte and found that there was a lot of interest from people in the dyslexia world because TTS feedback:
- helps people who find reading difficult
- helps proof reading
- helps you work out whether you have written what you intended to write
Dyslexia seemed to be an interesting and worth while area. There was a fascinating amount to learn about dyslexia and suitable technologies for dyslexia (eg Text to Speech and Speech Recognition) were at the cutting edge. So we started to focus on dyslexia, testing and building a portfolio of products. By 2000 practically all of our work was to do with dyslexia and other disabilities.
We have taken and continue to take a leading role in identifying solutions which help dyslexic people make the most of their abilities. We mostly resell other people's solutions. Some are designed for dyslexia and other disabilities, and others, like speech recognition, are designed for the world at large, but are also particularly valuable for dyslexic users. We work closely with publishers and even, where necessary, publish software and books ourselves. Our dyslexic.com website is respected internationally for the quality of its advice and information.
We now specialise in marketing a comprehensive range of technology-based products that help dyslexic people with reading and writing, and general living and learning. We also supply complete computer systems, desktop or laptop, PC, Mac and PDAs (Personal Digital Assistants), with the relevant software pre-loaded. In addition we offer personal one-to-one training almost anywhere in the country, together with a fully comprehensive technical support service.
We supply many systems under the UK’s Disabled Student’s Allowance Scheme, and have helped create a Code of Practice (or Service Level Agreement) for DSA Suppliers.
In the process of meeting the needs of dyslexic people and those with other difficulties, we have developed expertise and a portfolio of products in areas like Speech Recognition, Literacy, Numeracy, Concept Mapping and Study Skills which are useful to everybody, but particularly students.
We sell our products to educational institutions from Primary Schools to Universities, to businesses and to individuals. We also regularly exhibit and speak at training and dyslexia shows and conferences. Our consultants cover the country giving presentations and seminars on various aspects of dyslexia and technology. We now employ around 80 people throughout the UK from our Headquarters in Cambridge that we converted and moved into in 2001.