Xara is one of the oldest software developers in the UK, with an uninterrupted history of innovation dating back to 1981.
From Wordwise, one of the earliest microcomputer word processors, to Xara Designer, the world's fastest, and many believe the world's best drawing and illustration software, Xara has developed a wide range of products covering the whole realm of publishing software. Xara has pioneered many technologies taken for granted nowadays. From developing the world's first check-as-you-type spell checker, to award winning desktop-publishing software, to the first drawing software to provide real-time anti-aliasing and transparency control, Xara continues to innovate and develop leading edge technical solutions.
Xara's first Windows illustration software, Xara Studio, was licensed to Corel and distributed for many years as CorelXARA. Now back under Xara control this product has been enhanced and relaunched and is now sold in two versions, Xara Photo & Graphic Designer and Xara Designer Pro, and also forms the basis for Xara Web Designer.
Xara has been involved in the Internet from the very beginning. Xara Networks, a subsidiary of the Xara Group, was a pioneer Internet provider in the mid 1990s (subsequently sold). Another early innovation was Xara Online, which provided online Web Service based web graphic and photo effect add-ons. Xara's most recent development is Xara Online Designer, a cloud based service which offers the ability to design rich documents in the web browser, using any device, and in collaboration with colleagues. Today Xara does all of its business via the web, and has millions of online customers, worldwide.
Xara is headquartered in the historic house, Gaddesden Place, in the UK, north of London. You can find details of the many products developed since 1981 here.
According to its retail sales figures, MAGIX leads in the multimedia software sector in the most important European markets, and is one of the most successful competitors in the USA.
In January 2007 Xara was acquired by MAGIX AG and benefits from a distribution partnership with another wholly owned subsidiary MAGIX Software GmbH. MAGIX has been a leading international provider of high-quality software, online services and digital contents for multimedia communications since 1993. Internationally, MAGIX operates from branches in the USA, Canada, the UK, Germany, France, Italy and the Netherlands. The MAGIX product range is targeted towards laymen and professionals alike and goes beyond the PC range to include seamlessly integrated online and mobile applications.