IF there is a distinct international outlook for York-based web development business DigitSign Ltd, then it is hardly surprising.

Its chief executive is Iranian-born Masoud Gorbani who was raised in York, lived and worked in Canada, then met and married his IT expert wife, Shahrzad, in the Netherlands, where they launched their company.

Last year they transferred to York where its success has continued at such a pace that they are pitching for both the Science & Technology Business Of The Year and Family Business Of The Year in The Press Business Awards 2010.

Masoud said: “Our work is based mainly in the north, but we also cover the whole of Europe and we are proud to say that we can count some large blue chip companies in Benelux among our customers, as well as lots of small and medium-sized businesses.”

The company is divided into two divisions. He heads up the web and mobile application development side while Shahrzad manages the consultancy division. They produce solutions around Microsoft technologies by designing applications and online concepts.

The web and mobile application business is a good for with the consultancy division which provides solutions ranging from business development to social media and online services.

Meanwhile, Shahrzad works as an independent consultant for high-calibre tech companies like Microsoft, Atos, Origin and ASML.

Among their biggest European customers is SteffiNews, the Dutch online media company in Rotterdam, for which the couple have designed and developed four web applications, 120 web services, five web designs, two mobile applications and database developments.

The value of these projects over five years has been £250,000 and it has signed DigitSign for another year to develop a social media platform and a new mobile advertisement platform.