The PebblePad e-learning system helped scoop its developers the prestigious Company of the Year award at this year’s Shropshire Business Awards – and it’s set for a major overhaul in 2012.

Pebble Learning, based in the e-Innovation Centre at the University of Wolverhampton’s Priorslee Campus, continued a pattern of ongoing growth last year, and as the next 12 months will see the roll-out of its new operating system, further expansion could be on the agenda.

The new software – effectively PebblePad version 3.0 – will be rolled out initially in Australia in February, before being brought to the UK in time for the new academic year in September.

Managing director Colin Dalziel said: “We have purposefully designed the software to be more flexible to fit in with different markets at home and internationally.

“It supports a variety of languages, for example, so if we put Arabic or Chinese into it, it will work, even if we don’t have immediate plans to enter those markets. It’s about long-term functionality for the future.

“We have learned a lot from the last seven or eight years when the product has been available, and one of the problems is we have enhanced the product by adding bits around the edges. We need a more integrated product for it to work effectively.

“I would like to think version 3.0 will last us for five or six years, but you never know how technology is going to change. We are putting down firm foundations to build on and we have a road map going forward over the next two years.”

The new product includes the power for users to effectively network through the PebblePad, allowing people studying or teaching different subjects around the world to share their experiences and techniques – including more than 100,000 users with the Institute for Learning.

The redesign has also incorporated technology from major e-learning companies in North America, although Pebble will retain its autonomy in Telford, and continue to grow – it has expanded its office base and taken on extra staff this year, and is braced for fresh additions in 2012.

Mr Dalziel said: “Over the last five years our turnover has gone up by 135 per cent year on year, it has almost been a straight line. It would be interesting to know where we would be if it had been a positive economic environment.

“We have a good reputation and that’s going to help carry us forward. We put a lot of effort into customer service. There’s almost a buzz around e-learning conferences as there are some good companies out there. The key thing is talking to customers and finding out what their needs are. We have a good idea of how we think the system should work, but you need to talk to users on the ground about what they are seeing in practice.”

He added: “Over the last six months we have won a tender with Leeds Metropolitan University, and had a number of well established universities like Sheffield joining.

“They are more traditional universities which are often cautious about moving into new technologies, so getting them onside is a significant development in terms of our product’s acceptance into the market.

“We think there’s potential for large corporate organisations to use our system to support their HR processes.”

Pebble Learning is to hold an e-learning conference in Shifnal in June.