Cambridge International Software Ltd

Part of the Cambridge Group, which included book and music publishing companies and several schools teaching English to foreign-language students, Cambridge International Software delivered Acorn-based hard- and software solutions into schools and businesses frrom their base in north London. As the gaming industry developed, the company moved first into edutainment software and broadened the hardware base to include the Commodore Amiga and PC-compatibles. Offices were opened in Holland and Belgium and after a relocation to central London the portfolio expanded to include games and productivity hard- and software which came under a rebranded CIS. Collaborations with hardward company Vertical Twist, which led to the production of a hardward sound sampler, and other software houses such as Krisalis and Didatech soon followed. Further expansion under the umbrella of KTT (Kanji Translation Technologies) was the product of the fusion of the language schools and software development to meet the increasing demands of Japanese companies with offices in London. In May 1994 there was a hostile takeover of the Cambridge Group after the untimely death of director Alfred Reynolds, and despite increasing sales and excellent prospects, the software house was closed down.