I T & SOF TWARE
Windowlink takes a glance at the past
with a Focus on the future
Mark Dudley, managing director at glazing industry software solution specialist, Windowlink, looks
at how much software has changed over the last years and how the company is offering a modern
lifeline to installers.
Windowlink was formed back in
8, and the world looked a lot
different at that time.
Margaret Thatcher was
Prime Minister, the Live Aid concerts raised
more than £m for Ethiopia, England won the
Ashes, Comic Relief was launched, and the Dire
Straits album Brothers in Arms became the first
compact disc to sell more than 1 million copies.
EastEnders and Neighbours were introduced
to the small screen and it was also the year that
Clive Sinclair launched the Sinclair C.
There were big advances in software and
computer technology. Nintendo released Super
Mario Bros., going on to sell ˆ million copies
and become the best-selling video game of all
time – a record which stood until ‹8.
Microsoft released its first versions of Excel
and Word for the Apple Macintosh and also
began collaborating with IBM on the next
generation operating system. Software has come
a long, long way since those days.
These advances have had an incredible impact
on everyday life for us all. In 8, only ‘% of
UK homes had a home computer. That figure
had risen to 88% in ‹•-8 according to a survey
by Statista this year. We live in a digital age now
and the innovations that have been made in
software have never been more vital than they
are at the moment.
Windowlink was formed after we developed
a program for a double glazing company which
helped to speed up their production process and
eliminate mistakes. That software ran on one of
the first Commodore 6ˆ computers!
Fast forward to today, software technology
and the modern glazing industry are practically
unrecognisable from the ’8s, but our aims
remain the same. With ‘ years of experience
in the sector, we understand what installers
and fabricators need and continue to deliver
practical, easy-to-use software.
As the global pandemic has enforced installers
to adapt their sales techniques and adopt a
‘safe selling’ style to adhere to social distancing,
Windowlink’s suite of software is providing a
lifeline.
Focus, our window and door design and
quoting software, has been designed to make the
whole process easier, quicker and manages sales
from quote to contract to survey. It incorporates
virtually any style, configuration and product
for windows and doors, complete with the right
finish and hardware.
Designs are then presented as impressive
visuals with quotes, contracts and survey reports
which can be shown to customers on screen,
printed out, or emailed directly to the customer.
Vector enables installers to show homeowners
exactly how their conservatory, orangery or
extension design will actually look on their
property. It allows users to superimpose
conservatory and extension plans onto real
photographs, creating quality ‘D images.
Because it is Windows based, Vector works on
laptops, both on or offline.
We’ve also taken this one step further by
introducing our ˆSite Imaging Bureau, enabling
us to extract the ‘D data file from Vector and
convert the image into a photo realistic, highresolution
‘D video.
By offering installers Focus, Vector and the
ˆSite Imaging Bureau, we are providing the
precious tools needed to ‘sell the dream’ to
homeowners in an attractive, easy-to-use way,
while allowing them to keep themselves and their
customers safe.
I’d like to finish by returning to 8. It was
the year that the Internet’s Domain Name System
was born, and the first British mobile phone
call was made (by Ernie Wise to Vodafone).
It’s amazing to think how far we’ve come since
then and how much the internet and mobiles
dominate our lives.
At Windowlink, we’re always thinking about
the next way we can help our customers – who
knows how far we’ll go in the next ‘ years!
November www.ggpmag.com
“Focus, our window and door design and
quoting software, has been designed to make
the whole process easier, quicker and manages
sales from quote to contract to survey”
/www.ggpmag.com
