Innovation e-newsletter Autumn 2008
Welcome to the third edition of INNOVATION - the newsletter that brings you all the news from Innovation Centres Scotland Ltd, Hillington Park Innovation Centre, Alba Innovation Centre, Wireless Innovation and Wellness Innovation and Technology.
Lots has been happening over the last 6 months from within the Innovation Centres and the initiatives and also with our clients.
Technology - A Prescription for Economic Wellbeing and Health
A major drive has been launched to identify and develop new wellness and health technologies that will help create a healthier Scotland and provide global market opportunities for innovative companies.
The aim of the three year project is to provide support to Scottish organisations enabling them to become players in an emerging global Wellness and Health market estimated to be worth $200billion a year and to triple by 2012.
The Scottish Enterprise Wellness and Health Innovation project will be managed by Innovation Centres (Scotland) Ltd (ICS) who have successfully completed a pilot project on how to grow the Scottish sector which was financed by the economic development agency. Funding for the extended project will also come from Scottish Enterprise and an application has been made to European Regional Development Fund.
Developing Scottish businesses in this market over the three years of the project is anticipated to grow the economy, create up to 85 new jobs and support 15 collaborative new ventures.
The initiative will also aim to build a robust knowledge sharing, collaborative community of academics, partners, stakeholders and companies that will drive the commercialisation of relevant research.
Companies will also be encouraged to look at the potential to adapt and transfer their existing technologies to address the demands of the Wellness and Health market.
The project also supports the Scottish Government's recently published E-Health Strategy for 2008 -2011 which aims to improve patient care through advances in technology.
In delivering the Wellness and Health Innovation Project the ICS team will undertake a four point action plan that will:
- identify new market opportunities
- attract global partners to engage with Scottish companies
- encourage and support SMEs to develop new products and services or transfer existing technologies to the Wellness and Health sector
- promote innovation throughout the supply chain.
Tom Ogilvie, CEO of ICS, said: "The explosion of the Wellness and Health market is a consequence of the fundamental changes that are taking place in the delivery of healthcare services worldwide."
"As people live longer increasing costs of treatment place enormous strains on budgets resulting in a move to home management of medical conditions, a shift to preventative healthcare and encouragement of people to take personal responsibility for their health through an improved lifestyle."
He added: "New technology is seen as the means of facilitating the change that will deliver solutions to the challenges of providing a 21st century healthcare service. Scotland has a great tradition of leading the field in healthcare from the discovery of penicillin and insulin to ultrasound diagnostics and pioneering the use of surgical anaesthesia and much more."
"That tradition of medical innovation continues today with companies such as wideblue who have collaborated with PWB Health to develop a hand held device to assist women with breast self-examination to detect the early signs of cancer. Island Communications has been appointed a member of European Consortium funded by the EU to develop a satellite-based tracking system that will allow those with Alzheimers Disease and all forms of Dementia to move around within a safe environment outside their home."
Mr. Ogilvie added: "We are delighted to have been given the opportunity to continue our work in helping identify and deliver the next generation of technology-driven healthcare products that will give Scotland a lead in enhancing the care and lifestyle of people here and worldwide."
David Cross, project manager at Scottish Enterprise said: "Health and well-being is a key strategic priority for the Scottish Government. There is an increasing recognition that health and wellness has a positive impact on the prosperity of the nation.
"Scottish companies and institutions have an enviable track record in coming up with innovative ideas. This project will encourage companies to develop new innovations for the wellness market and help them to successfully exploit these innovative products and services."
The Wellness team will hold its first seminar "The pulse behind eHealth" on 20th November 2008. Ambitious companies seeking to exploit these new opportunities are invited to this seminar to meet and listen to a group of leading analysts, partners and innovators who will present their biggest predictions and expectations for this sector.
Attendance at this event can be booked by emailing: forums@innovationcentre.org
HILLINGTON NEWS
Texting - The Language of Success
KeyPoint Technologies (KPT) has dialled up a £4 million second round of finance that will consolidate its position as a global leader in the delivery of language software and services to major mobile phone handset manufacturers.
KPT's Adaptxt software enhances usability of mobile phones, drives greater text messaging, and is already available in 27 languages.
Commenting on the funding received from Indian and US investors Sanjay Patel, Chief Executive and founder of KPT said: "This is a highly significant moment in KPT's development. We will use the funds to accelerate the build up of our development facilities in Scotland and India as well as strengthening our sales and customer delivery staff for the US, Europe and Asia Pacific."
The company which is based at Hillington Park Innovation Centre has 50 development staff, including 20 full -time linguists, based between offices in Hillington and Hyderabad, India. The new investment will allow KPT to finalise developments on other platforms and additional languages.
Sanjay Patel added, "Adaptxt is breathing innovation into a strategically important space for handset manufacturers. Text entry is the key driving interaction on a device and KPT's combination of innovative software and services is central to an improved user experience and importantly, allows handset manufacturers to customise Adaptxt through stages of the handset software lifecycle for different customer segments".
He also acknowledged the support of Scottish Development International and the advisers based at Hillington Park describing them as "... invaluable assets for a small company delivering ground breaking solutions to established handset manufacturers on a global scale."
Tom Ogilvie, CEO of Innovation Centres Scotland, said:"Sanjay's kind remarks are encouragement for all of the team at Hillington Park Innovation Centre in our efforts to deliver the best possible support and service to our tenant companies. Companies such as KPT with drive, ambition and entrepreneurial leadership are adding value to Scotland's economy and standing as a place to do business and we are proud to work with them."
Information on KPT can be found at http://www.keypoint-tech.com/
Global Connection for Essential Viewing
A Global Co-operation Agreement with Lockheed Martin has placed Essential Viewing at the forefront of development and supply of leading edge video technology for security and military applications.
The agreement extends the existing Strategic Framework agreement Essential Viewing (http://www.essential-viewing.com/) has in place with Lockheed Martin Corporation, the largest provider of IT services, systems integration, and training to the U.S. Government.
The move will help increase product development and marketing at a time when the use of video in both commercial and defence environments continues to increase against a backdrop of limited bandwidth capacity.
Essential Viewing's technology is ideally positioned to provide customers with the best real-time video available over narrow bandwidths.
Strengthening the agreement with Lockheed Martin will accelerate the delivery of new products to the market place by the end of this year and has already seen an expansion of the team at the company's Hillington Park Innovation Centre base.
A spin out of Strathclyde University, Essential Viewing's products not only have military applications but are also used in the transport industry for surveillance on buses and trains, and can be deployed by local authorities for a number of applications including traffic management.
Les Gaw, Essential Viewing's Chief Executive, commented: "Having a partner of the stature of Lockheed Martin is of tremendous benefit to Essential Viewing. Not only will it allow the company to accelerate product development but it will provide a partnership through which our product can be marketed globally, a difficult challenge for smaller companies operating independently."
Having previously worked with Lockheed Martin in the UK that arrangement will now be extended to the US and elsewhere to include Essential Viewing technology in customer projects.
New Investment for Kelvin Connect
Mobile data management systems provider Kelvin Connect has recently negotiated a £1million investment deal that will finance expansion plans.
The equity stake taken in Hillington Park Innovation Centre-based Kelvin Connect (http://www.kelvinconnect.com/) taken by Airwave Solutions will drive the growth of its business to supply electronic notebooks to Britain's police forces.
Established in 2002 to commercialise technology developed at the University of Glasgow, Kelvin Connect already partners Airwave in the provision of hand held computers for policemen in Lothians, Strathclyde and Lancashire.
The recent deal is aimed at rapid expansion across the UK for the devices which provide a complete mobile information system enabling professionals to capture, process and report on complex business processes. Law enforcement and healthcare sectors form a niche market for the product.
Kelvin Connect anticipates the deal will also allow it to increase the size of its workforce from the current nine to 60 over the next two years.
Simon Hardy, CEO at Kelvin Connect, added: "This deal is driven by powerful synergies that will yield great benefits to the two companies and our customers. The combined solution that it will enable Airwave to offer to the market is by far the most proven and comprehensive. Kelvin Connect has found it easy to work effectively with Airwave and we are delighted to have them as our strategic partner."
Richard Bobbett, CEO at Airwave, commented: "The demand for effective mobile information is growing rapidly within the police and law enforcement arena. Airwave recognises that to meet this demand there is a role for best of breed providers such as Kelvin Connect. There are clear synergies between the sectors in which Airwave and Kelvin Connect operate and we believe that this investment will add to our broad emergency services experience with the detailed mobile data capture expertise which Kelvin Connect already has."
Tom Ogilvie, CEO of Innovation Centres Scotland, said: "Kelvin Connect is rapidly establishing a reputation as a key provider of hand-held mobile technology solutions for business. This is an exciting development with potential to create a significant number of new jobs. We have supported the company for five years providing a wide range of assistance covering financial planning to investor liaison. The agreement with Airwave Solutions I believe enhances our reputation in helping build Scotland's 21st century technology base."
New Website a Winner
Greenock Morton Football Club has kicked off the new season in a league of their own thanks to its new website.
Designed and developed by Hillington Park Innovation Centre-based web company, NSDesign Ltd, the site which includes the latest news, squad listings and fixtures has scored with the fans.
Kenny Roy, Business Development Manager with NSDesign (and life-time Morton Fan) said: "It's been a pleasure to work with the Morton staff in helping produce what we believe to be one of the best websites in Scottish Football."
Crawford Rae, Morton Director, commented: "We're delighted with the new Morton site. It not only looks superb, but crucially, the new admin capabilities make it easy for us to update on a regular basis. Our ongoing partnership with NSDesign will see the introduction of a number of new features in the months to come - watch this space!"
Visit the new Morton website at http://www.gmfc.net/
NSDesign's sporting connections also include Scotland's only professional basketball team the Scottish Rocks.
They developed a new website for the team who play their home games at the Kelvin Hall International Sports Arena, Glasgow, and provide web hosting and ongoing development and consultancy services. See http://www.scottishrocks.co.uk/
OLM Group's Scottish Expansion
OLM Group, the largest independent supplier of information solutions to the UK Care sector, recently announced an expansion of its presence to support its market activity in Scotland.
An investment package involving Regional Selective Assistance and Training Plus grants totalling £190,000 from the Scottish Government and Scottish Enterprise will be used to expand the development of OLM Group in Scotland, through a move to larger premises, creation of new jobs, and further investment in employee skills.
OLM Group is well known for its solutions serving the social care market, and this announcement builds on its existing partnerships with fourteen local authorities in Scotland. Fraser McCluskey, OLM's Business Development Director stated: "OLM has enjoyed a long track record of working with Local Authorities and Government in Scotland, and this expansion, supported by the Scottish Government and Scottish Enterprise, enhances our capabilities in what we see as an exciting market, where our customers are leveraging our solutions to tackle challenges in an innovative and collaborative manner and achieving real benefit for citizens."
Commenting on the move to larger premises in Hillington Park, Glasgow, David Rivett, OLM's Chief Technical Officer, said: "The move will allow for much needed expansion. As well as improving the office facilities, such as a customer demo and workshop facility, it will create space for new roles in research and product development, underlining our commitment to enhancing our position within the Scottish technology community."
Tom Ogilvie, CEO of Innovation Centres Scotland, said: "OLM Group's new Scottish facility is a landmark occasion for us both. Hillington Park Innovation Centre is bidding farewell to our first tenant whom we have been delighted to support through several phases of growth over eight years. OLM's move heralds the promise of an exciting new era of development for the company involving the creation of new high value jobs. We offer them our congratulations and best wishes for future success."
Please visit http://www.olmgroup.com/ for more information.
Unique Recruitment Proposition for the Financial Services Industry
The current turmoil in the global financial industry has sparked a massive increase in job vacancies registered on the web site of recruitment company Market Vendor Jobs.
The company has posted 3000 vacancies on its site in the past month and has seen a 70 per cent rise in traffic on its portal over the same period.
Based on the Hillington Innovation Park, Market Vendor Jobs focuses on facilitating recruitment for companies world wide who provide services to the global financial industry.
The recent vacancy upsurge, despite significant job cuts resulting from the credit crunch, has come from companies in UK, Japan, Australia and the United States.
The vacancies cover a wide range of career opportunities from human resource to sales, IT to analysts, management and many more.
Patrick Looney, CEO of Market Vendor Jobs explained: "Given the current financial climate, recruiters within the financial market vendor arena want a quicker and more cost effective way of finding new staff. Candidates on the other hand are eager to keep a watching brief on career opportunities."
He added: "Because we are a specifically focussed business productivity tool, recruiters and candidates are keen to take advantage of our free services and data."
The new innovative online recruitment company went live in August this year when it located in the Hillington Park Innovation Centre.
Market Vendor Jobs is a recruitment site and business productivity tool, specifically focussed on the global financial market vendor arena. The site features only specialists in this particular niche marketplace, providing an unprecedented degree of focus to both recruiters and candidates. Recruiters are offered a highly cost-effective way of tracking down experienced quality specialists and candidates register for free.
Market Vendor is the first online recruitment company to combine both online and offline recruitment processes into one easy-to-access e-portal. This facility provides financial market vendors with access to uniquely experienced candidates. Thanks to the portal's functionality and specificity, it reduces cost and hiring time, improving the quality of hire. Market Vendor's website provides invaluable information relevant to this specific niche market - such as current vacancies, a profiling service and statistics. A host of additional information on gaining employment and career development is also available to download, free of charge.
"Recruiters have previously been forced towards generalist financial market sites," says CEO, Patrick Looney "but these return volumes of irrelevant CVs. Our research showed that there is a real demand for something that can pinpoint market specialists and deliver a handful of CVs - but from real contenders."
Market Vendor aims to be the focal point for recruitment and career development in the global financial market vendor arena and at the forefront of a new generation of online recruitment services.
Market Vendor can be found at http://www.marketvendorjobs.com/
ALBA NEWS
Stephen Morris Takes Over At Alba
Stephen Morris, one of Scotland's leading company growth professionals, has been appointed Senior Innovation Manager at the Alba Innovation Centre in Livingston.
A chartered engineer by profession Stephen spent 25 years in industry followed by ten years in a variety of roles working with early stage technology companies helping them develop innovative products and services, assisting with market access and in the raising of both public and private sector finance. Most recently he was Managing Director of Connect Scotland and brings to his new appointment a wide network of contacts amongst technology entrepreneurs, professional intermediaries and investors.
While Stephen will be responsible for the day to day running of the Alba Innovation Centre site he will have a specific focus on working with the Alba tenant companies and the ICS advisory team in accelerating company growth.
Stephen replaces Peter Andrew who has moved on to pursue his own professional interests.
ICS to Provide Enterprise Fellowship Training
Budding technology entrepreneurs will be supported in transforming their degree-based research into commercially viable products by Innovation Centres Scotland (ICS).
ICS, which operates Hillington Park and Alba Innovation Centres, has linked with the Hunter Centre for Entrepreneurship to provide training for post graduates awarded a place on the prestigious Royal Society of Edinburgh Enterprise Fellowship Programme.
A new intake of 13 would-be entrepreneurs are about to commence the year long programme which is funded by Scottish Enterprise and the research funding councils, BBSRC and STFC
Each of the Fellows will be allocated a mentor appointed from the extensive ICS network of business contacts and after six months they will be receive expert feedback and advice on their projects from a panel of business advisors, entrepreneurs and investors.
The Enterprise Fellowships Programme seeks to develop Scotland's knowledge based economy through the commercialisation of its outstanding research base.
Over the last ten years 76 Fellowships have been awarded providing a market based salary for twelve months, initial business development funding and a targeted programme of enterprise training and mentor support.
The programme has been immensely successful with the majority of Enterprise Fellows going on to form successful businesses ranging from yacht sail design, sensing technology and micro displays, to cleaning systems for the oil and gas industry, and a platform technology for pest disease management. Ralf Klinert, MD Funky Moves based at the Alba Innovation Centre, is a past Enterprise Fellow.
"Providing support and training to these highly motivated, ambitious and innovate young people who have the drive to develop embryonic technology into a commercial product is an excellent fit with our approach to assisting the growth of next-generation high technology Scottish companies," explained Stephen Morris, Senior Innovation Manager at the Alba Innovation Centre.
He added: "Our advisory team provides a range of products and services designed precisely to meet the needs of young, innovative and potentially high growth companies to help them overcome the most common barriers to their success."
"We also have access to an extensive network of highly experienced business people, who have succeeded out in the highly competitive commercial world. Our Innovation Accelerator panel for example provides structured access to these experts by means of ‘Dragon's Den' style presentations whose diagnostic feedback is assessed and incorporated into the business plan with the help of the innovation advisory team."
"All of this expertise and support network experience will be made available to those involved in the Enterprise Fellowship programme. We are delighted to have the opportunity to work with the Hunter Centre in supporting some of the most exciting young entrepreneurs develop their projects and attain their dream of taking their research from the laboratory to commercial reality."
SynGro Toasts Heineken Success
Young Scottish company SynGro has won major contracts with two global corporations to elevate customer relations to a new level that will deliver increased profits.
Dutch brewing giant Heineken and Scandinavian pulp and paper conglomerate Stora Enso have engaged SynGro (http://www.syngro.com/) to transform customers into advocates.
SynGro has developed highly sophisticated software technology and processes that are integrated into a company's business model which in effect turns customers into a potent new sales force.
From their base on the Alba Innovation Centre in Livingston, SynGro will work with both companies to convert the latent value of their customer base into company growth.
Their highly innovative software programme captures customer feedback and translates it into an action programme focusing on key elements that will enhance customer experience.
The customer insight gained then becomes the catalyst to drive up performance to a level where the customers will recommend the supplier to other companies.
A London School of Economics study "Advocacy Drives Growth" found: "Every 1% increase in word of mouth advocacy correlated with an £8.82 million increase in sales" and "a 1% reduction in negative word of mouth would lead to £24.84m additional revenues" of those companies studied.
SynGro will work with Heineken, Europe's largest brewer, in its Polish operation to integrate its SEAMS software and associated processes into its business model.
The same programme will be used to assist Stora Enso which has facilities in 40 countries worldwide and employs 36,000 people.
Keith Schorah, SynGro's CEO, said: "Working with these two major international companies is a significant step forward in the development of the business. They provide an excellent platform from which to expand our operations and we are confident of rolling out our product across Stora Enso's facilities worldwide by the end of 2009. This will allow us to double our staff and increase our turnover substantially and achieve an important milestone in our growth plan."
He added: "The assistance we have received from the Alba Innovation Centre, particularly in the early days when cash flow was tight, has been invaluable. Their advice and support has been integral to our success."
Stephen Morris, Manager of the Alba Innovation Centre which is part of Innovation Centres (Scotland) said: "To help one of our tenant companies grow to the point where they expand into the international market is very exciting and rewarding. Young innovative companies like SynGro with the dynamism, ambition and ability to compete internationally are vital to the future economic success of Scotland as a whole. We are delighted to have assisted them in the journey."
WIRELESS NEWS
NX Vision Revolutionises Mobile Television
Software design company NX Vision is leading the way in the global transformation of mobile television.
Its ground breaking software will turn mobile phones into remote TVs allowing users to view their favourite programmes live or pre-recorded anywhere in the world.
The technology created at NXVision's facility in Dunfermline will enable smart handsets to receive live broadcasts from digital satellite, cable, IPTV or Freeview TV set top boxes (STB).
The system will turn handsets into remote TV controls enabling mobile viewers to change channels or programme the STB to record a programme that can be streamed ‘live' to their handset using NXVision Placeshifting or recorded and ‘pushed' to their handset using NXVision Sideloading for viewing at their leisure - anytime, anywhere.
It is anticipated that the number of people subscribing to mobile television will quadruple to 65 million worldwide by 2012 taking the estimated market value of the sector to $6.6 billion.
The business benefits offered by the NXVision system, widely acclaimed at the recent International Broadcasting Convention, include increased revenue streams through subscription and advertising.
NXVision (http://www.nxvision.com/) has been assisted by the Wireless Innovation Centre at Hillington Innovation Park, Glasgow, in successfully testing the new product and providing essential market intelligence.
NXVision is currently involved in negotiating ‘B' round funding of £3.5million that will allow the company to take its product to the international market and establish offices in mainland Europe, USA and Asia.
Murray Edwards, Business Development Director with NXVision, said:" Our system is quite unique in the market place because it is totally embedded into the set top box enabling security of content. Set top boxes already in use can be easily adapted to incorporate the system. It also uses the existing infrastructure making it easy and quick to deploy via WiFi, broadband or 3G networks. Using the existing infrastructure also helps reduce the implementation costs."
He added: "Our technology allows TV viewers to take their living room experience with them, wherever they are, and watch what they want, live or pre-recorded on a range of devices including mobile phone, laptop and desktop PC."
"The assistance we have received from the Wireless Innovation Centre has been invaluable to the development of our product," he added.
Alisdair Gunn, Senior technology manager, Innovation Centre Scotland Ltd, Wireless Innovation project, said: "NXVision is building on a Scottish heritage in television with new innovative technology that will drive the development of telecommunications in the 21st century far beyond the dreams of even John Logie Baird. We are delighted to continue to support them."
GENERAL NEWS
10BigThings Predicts Technology Trends
A massive increase in computer processing power and a greater impact of fashion on the design of computing devices were predicted at the 10BigThings Global Forum.
The future development of the internet and technology was outlined to an audience of more than 300 business people at the event staged in Edinburgh and organised by Innovation Centres Scotland and ScotlandIS.
A panel of industry experts gave the forum delegates their insight into how technology trends could shape the future of Scottish businesses within the next five years.
The Forum heard:
- Martin Sadler of HP Labs predict a 20,000 fold increase in processing power within the next 20 years using nanotechnology to build a new generation of super-computing PCs and mobile devices. He also predicted that fashion will have a huge impact on the future design and functionality of computing devices.
- Charles Armstrong, chief executive of Trampoline Systems share his experience of implementing social networking in the business environment. He forecast that the value of social networks would start to appear as intangible assets on corporate balance sheets in the next few years.
- In a first for Scotland, Microsoft unveiled its Surface technology, a radical new user interface which uses hand gestures to access and work with applications to offer a rich and highly intuitive user experience.
- Duncan MacTear of 4Projects explain how Software as a Service (SaaS) could be deployed profitably and argue for the benefits of beta versions of applications.
In addition there were video links to Greg Papadopoulous, chief technology officer of Sun Microsystems and Stuart Cosgrove, director of nations and regions for Channel 4. Greg gave an overview of how virtualisation and cloud computing would impact on the future development of software while Stuart stressed the future of personal computing lay in greater portability of devices.
Chairing the Forum was David Mitchell, senior vice president, IT research at Ovum who led a lively Q&A session after the presentations. The event was sponsored by Scottish Enterprise, Oracle, CW Jobs, and Highland Spring.
The Forum also gave an opportunity for some of the most innovative SMEs in Scotland to showcase their offerings to the leading players in the Scottish ICT market. Exhibitors included Codeplay, TAG Games, Ewgeco, G2BS, eoLogic & SKF.
"We hope that the audience left inspired and fired up with fresh ideas about how technology will help their businesses in future," said Polly Purvis, executive director, ScotlandIS. "The quality of the speakers and the content of their presentations made this a rare opportunity to hear from leading experts."
Tom Ogilvie, chief executive officer, Innovation Centres Scotland said: "In the current economic climate it is more important than ever that Scottish businesses keep ahead of the curve in terms of upcoming technological developments. Events such as 10BigThings act as a catalyst for sharing knowledge and best practice by allowing delegates to interact with some of the world's leading technologists."
Karine Joins ICS Management Team
Karine has been appointed Business Development Manager for Innovation Centres Scotland Ltd. Based at Hillington Park Innovation Centre she is responsible for supporting the growth and development of the business, working with ICS' commercial and strategic partners to the benefit of clients.
Prior to her appointment she worked as a consultant with a wide variety of SMEs helping them to define and implement their business strategies.
Karine has more than 20 years experience in business including quality engineering, marketing and business development. She worked for Motorola Semiconductor for 13 years and spent 3 years in economic development at Scottish Enterprise as a Manager in the Microelectronics, Optoelectronics and Communications Technology team.
Advisory Team Grows
Recent accountancy graduate Kelly Monaghan has joined the Hillington Park Innovation Centre's advisory team on secondment from McDougall Johnstone, the Glasgow-based firm of certified and chartered accountants.
Kelly provides financial advisory services to clients, with a special focus on preparation and review of financial projections and business plans for new and existing companies.
