At Maildistiller, knowing how difficult the situation is,we’ve tried to be as accommodating as possible and make things really easy for any partners making the move. By devoting a dedicated migration team to make the transition super smooth and relatively effortless, we have become the preferred migration choice by over 7000users to date, with 1000s more in the migration pipeline.

“What impressed me foremost about the Maildistiller team was their excellent, prompt response to my enquiries. The guys realised that ex-Webroot partners, such as myself, would be particularly keen to get on the ball and ensure an easy transition so they devoted resources to ensure that all such enquiries were responded to almost immediately. This worked for me.”David Banes, Director, Cleartext.

Rather than simply offering a short-term solution to loose-ended partners at this time, at Maildistiller we want to ensure that the relationships we build make sense for all involved because we’re in it for the long haul! What has made moving to Maildistiller a particularly easy choice for many ex-Webroot customers is the striking similarities between the two services. Maildistiller and Webroot, previously Email Systems, enjoyed a very healthy competition for many years, with our cloud-based email security services having been repeatedly benchmarked closely against each other by resellers and customers alike. On top of this, Maildistiller’s recent introduction of the first Utility billing model into this market, allowing partners to simply pay for actual usage on a per monthly basis, have made us a particularly competitive option for many MSPs.

“After Webroots exit from the market we were keen to find a worthy replacement.  We trialled Maildistiller for ourselves and were pleased with the easy to use interface and excellent tech support. We were especially impressed with the Emergency Inbox and Instant Replay features which kept us up and running whilst performing maintenance on our exchange server. We have now started rolling it out to clients.”

Chris Penhaligon, Tanist

To date, more than 7000 Webroot customers have successfully migrated to the Maildistiller service with many other interested parties being treated to 1-1 demos, free trials, expert advice, a listening ear and competitive migration options to make the move not only smooth but right. As a 100% channel focussed vendor, at Maildistiller our partners are our number 1 priority and at a time when some partners may have lost faith in the channel we’re here to restore it!

This week I would like to take the opportunity to honour Northern Ireland’s IT professionals.

The quality of IT specialists currently working in the region is second to none and, while we still remain focused on developing NI’s knowledge based economy, we must remember to praise those who are already spear-heading this cause.

In particular, I would like to congratulate Colm McGoldrick, a County Fermanagh man and CEO of Maildistiller (a cloud email security specialist based at the Science Park) who was recently named the BCS IT Professional of the Year.

The IT Professional of the Year award is given by the Belfast branch of BCS, the Chartered Institute for IT, to an individual member of the profession in Northern Ireland for his or her outstanding achievements, influence and on-going success in the IT industry.

Colm has worked in the IT industry for over 13 years making a significant impact at both Microsoft and BT with his own innovative solutions, before founding Maildistiller, which remains Northern Ireland’s first and only home-grown cloud security company. With an entrepreneurial spirit and extensive knowledge and expertise in the IT industry, Colm spotted the huge opportunity in the market for a cloud-based email security solution.

It hasn’t been easy, but processing more than one billion email connections per day across 20-plus countries and all from its Belfast HQ, Maildistiller is stronger and busier than ever.

Over the past year alone, Colm’s own personal commitment to cloud technologies  has been widely acknowledged on a global stage, having been listed on both the MSPmentor World’s Top 250 list of executives and expert leaders shaping the global managed services market and the TalkinCloud Global 200 Cloud Computing & Expert List.

Colm’s a firm believer in the huge export opportunities for NI, particularly in IT knowledge, and believes export to be the quickest, fastest and in many cases onlt sustainable way to grow and develop our local economy.

As such, Maildistiller’s sales strategy has always had a firm focus on export, and currently the Belfast based team successfully exports their cloud services to over 20 countries worldwide, including the USA, Canada, Australia, South Africa and Norway to name a few, as well as England, Scotland and the Republic of Ireland.

The SaaS market which Maildistiller current operates in is predicted to be worth $47.22 billion by next year and, with the business cementing itself as a market leader, a healthy slice of that will undoubtedly be making its way straight into the NI economy.

The limitless nature of the IT industry and building on the Apple dream to ‘Think Different’ is something Colm vehemently advocates, and it is exactly this type of attitude which will ensure that the province remains the hub for technology and innovation that it has unquestionably become.

This fantastic accolade was awarded to Fermanagh-born Colm, by British Computer Society (BCS) representative Adam Thilthorpe, at the impressive Titanic signature building, during yet another successful ‘IT Events Network Belfast’ program. The event itself was the seconf in a series of events for teh Northern Ireland IT industry organised by Brightwater Recruitment in association with SyncNI and the BCS.  Aptly entitled ‘The Titans Are Coming’, there were keynote speeches on the night from Simon Ritter, technology evangelist at Oracle and DR Mark Little CTO of JBoss at Red Hat along, with the prestigious IT Professional of the year presentation.

Winning the award was no mean feat considering the wealth of IT talent clearly evident in Northern Ireland and each of the four nominees were unquestionably worthy opponents. Colm’s influence and contribution to the growth of the NI IT industry however clearly shone for the judges.

Paul Hanna, chair of BCS Belfast Branch commented: “Colm is great winner for this year’s IT Professional of the Year award presented by the BCS Belfast Branch; having helped to put Northern Ireland on the IT industry’s map. The judges felt that Colmwas an excellent choice for ‘IT Professional of the Year’; with his entrepreneurial spirit and extensive knowledge and expertise in the IT industry.”

The award is given by the BCS Belfast Branch to an individual member of the IT profession for a contribution of major significance in the advancement of information systems or of the information systems profession or industry or which adds significantly to the understanding of the development of information systems.

With over 13 years’ experience in the IT industry, undeniably making his mark wherever he went with significant projects at BT and Microsoft,Colm’s expertise, enthusiasm and professionalism for the growth and success of IT in NI is clearly evident. As founder and CEO of Northern Irelands first and to date only home grown Cloud email security business, Colm has lead Maildistiller from the front with clear vision and purpose, and it now enjoys a market-leading position, servicing users in 20+ countries worldwide and creating huge export success for NI, all from their office in Belfast.

Colm was accompanied at the event by a very proud Maildistiller team and was absolutely thrilled to receive the award.

“It’s a wonderful feeling to be acknowledged with such a prestigious award for doing what you love. I was delighted to be nominated given the huge pool of IT talent we have here in NI, but to be selected as the winner is an absolute honour. IT offers huge potential for any economy, but here in Northern Ireland we have the skills, resources and undoubted passion to make a real difference and I for one am very excited to be in the mix.”

For further information contact Danielle Campbell – marketing manager at Maildistiller.

Email: Danielle.campbell@maildistiller.com

LONDON, April 19, 2012 /PRNewswire/ – Based on its recent analysis of web-based software platforms for tissue analysis and quantification, Frost & Sullivan recognise PathXL (Northern Ireland) with the 2012 European Web-based Software Platforms Enabling Technology Award.

“PathXL’s pioneering digital pathology solutions are highly versatile,” notes Frost & Sullivan Senior Research Analyst Prasanna Vadhana Kannan. “They allow pathologists to adopt digital pathology for inter-laboratory collaboration and then expand the utility of these systems to diverse digital pathology services such as remote consultations, quality assurance programmes, proficiency testing and  training, quantitative imaging and pattern recognition.”

The proprietary PathXL TMA (tissue microarray) software represents a biomarker discovery tool that can facilitate the identification and scoring of tissue biomarkers in high throughput tissue microarray format. As a preclinical biomarker discovery research-enabling tool, the PathXL TMA software is entirely web-enabled and allows researchers to share TMA slides instantly across large geographical distances, score the slides simultaneously, and integrate dispersed research laboratories.

PathXL’s software operates with a large spectrum of image formats, spanning different whole slide scanning instruments. PathXL puts workflow at the heart of its products, bringing new capabilities to customers who are investing in hardware to scan tissue pathology.

“The company’s products are designed to integrate with existing IT systems within research and clinical laboratories enabling PathXL to develop solutions for a wide application range,” adds Prasanna Vadhana Kannan. “PathXL’s digital pathology educational and management solutions underpin a wide range of applications including education and training in pathology, digital slide archiving, cloud-based digital pathology, biobanking, biomarker discovery and data management, and web-based image analysis for tissue research.”

PathXL Ltd. has been actively partnering with cancer research programmes in Northern Ireland, providing the backbone tissue management software for these initiatives. The company’s web-based solutions have allowed Northern Ireland’s research community to share their microscope samples globally with other researchers via the web, thereby improving the identification of disease markers and development of newer cancer therapies.

PathXL has also worked closely with medical and scientific staff at the Northern Ireland Biobank to develop a new comprehensive biobank workflow software platform. This new product – PathXL Biobank- meets the increasing needs of modern biobanks, supporting researchers that need access to human tissues for biomarker discovery.

Digital Pathology Workflow, a configurable solution that manages and streamlines digital pathology workflow in hospitals and pathology laboratories, is PathXL’s latest product offering. On the corporate front, PathXL’s strategic partnership with DigiPath Inc. in the United States aims to increase user adoption of the suite of PathXL digital pathology educational products.

“PathXL’s full range of national and international research collaborations emphasize the uniqueness behind the company’s digital pathology services that offer exceptional speed, flexibility, and objectivity needed for biomarker assessment in particular,” concludes Prasanna Vadhana Kannan. “Frost & Sullivan feels that PathXL’s integrated digital pathology solutions are poised for easy transition and high recognition.”

The Enabling Technology Award is presented to the company that has excelled in enabling the creation of new products and applications and/or has enhanced current products. Potential for market acceptance and breadth of access to technology are other criterion in which the company is seen to have excelled.

Frost & Sullivan Best Practices awards recognise companies in a variety of regional and global markets for demonstrating outstanding achievement and superior performance in areas such as leadership, technological innovation, customer service, and strategic product development. Industry analysts compare market participants and measure performance through in-depth interviews, analysis, and extensive secondary research to identify best practices in the industry.

About PathXL

PathXL specialises in web-based software and workflows for Digital Pathology. Its PathXL™ Manager product provides a robust, secure and open web-based platform to enable digital pathology users across all fields to manage, view and collaborate around virtual slides easily and efficiently. In addition, PathXL provides a range of applications and workflows on top of PathXL™ Manager to deliver specific solutions to pathologists, scientists and students in Education, Research, Clinical and Biobanking settings. PathXL also provides a full range of supporting services, including scanning, hosting, image analysis and consultancy. PathXL operates in the UK, Europe and North America.

PathXL is a privately owned company, headquartered in Belfast, Northern Ireland. For more information please visit:http://www.pathxl.com

About Frost & Sullivan

Frost & Sullivan, the Growth Partnership Company, enables clients to accelerate growth and achieve best-in-class positions in growth, innovation and leadership. The company’s Growth Partnership Service provides the CEO and the CEO’s Growth Team with disciplined research and best-practice models to drive the generation, evaluation, and implementation of powerful growth strategies. Frost & Sullivan leverages 50 years of experience in partnering with Global 1000 companies, emerging businesses and the investment community from more than 40 offices on six continents. To join our Growth Partnership, please visithttp://www.frost.com.

Contact:
Catherine Brassell
Best Practices
Frost & Sullivan
catherine.brassell@frost.com
P: +44.207.915.7867
www.frost.com

PathXL: A local leader

 Altobridge acquisition of key Mobile Data Optimisation technology bridges Mobile Broadband Divide

Kerry Technology Park, Ireland, April 2nd 2012: Altobridge Limited (www.altobridge.com), leaders in technology that cuts the cost of delivering mobile voice and mobile broadband connectivity, has purchased the exclusive, worldwide, mobile backhaul rights to an intellectual property suite, comprising proprietary data optimisation capabilities, from leading industry player, Replify. 

This functionality has been embedded into the Altobridge patent-pending data optimisation platform, Data-at-the-Edge™, and includes Byte Level Caching, Predictive Cache Loading, Data Stream de-duplication, Data Compression and Protocol Optimization, along with standard data optimization techniques.

Altobridge Data-at-the-Edge™ enables data passing between an operator’s core network and its radio access network (RAN) to be identified, managed and optimized at the most granular level, with intelligence to apply the best possible optimization to differing forms of data, e.g. video and email.

The solution delivers mobile data backhaul reductions of over 50% and therefore has profound impact on the costs of delivering mobile broadband via backhaul-constrained cellular base stations. It can be applied to base stations serving remote communities, remote enterprises and macro urban areas in emerging markets and developing nations.

“Altobridge has spent a decade driving down the cost of remote communications access. Over the last three years, we have concentrated on mobile broadband optimization and this turnkey solution enables the world’s mobile network operators to truly bridge the mobile broadband divide,” said Mike Fitzgerald, Chief Executive, Altobridge.

“Remote communities, remote enterprises or indeed any base station location where a network operator needs to cut backhaul costs, can now benefit from a level of backhaul savings never anticipated within the industry. While cost reduction was the key driver, we have also paid very close attention to achieving the highest quality of service levels and end-user experience,” he added.

Commenting on the agreement, Mr. Brian Baird, Replify CEO, said, “Replify are delighted to be collaborating with a company of Altobridge’s calibre, and together bringing WAN optimization to a new market. Replify Accelerator was designed from the start to be a high-performance, low-footprint, portable solution and we’re seeing the results of that investment in a ground-breaking new product. We’re particularly delighted to see our unique peer-to-peer cache sharing capability, CLAN, adding so much value in this environment.”

The fully integrated solution can be delivered as a turnkey radio access network (RAN) option or as a standalone optimisation system, direct to mobile network operators. It can also be licensed via wireless network vendors.

About Altobridge

Altobridge wireless network solutions reduce network operating costs in the delivery of mobile voice and mobile broadband services. Central to this lie a series of patented and patent-pending technologies namely; Altobridge Data-at-the-Edge™ (broadband data optimization in wireless networks), Local Connectivity™ (local voice switching) and Split Architecture™ (transmission and power optimization), all of which, individually andcombined, drive down communications delivery costs for mobile network operators by reducing backhaul and power consumption costs.

Altobridge is headquartered in Ireland and has further bases in; USA, China, Malaysia and Indonesia covering sales, R&D, customer support and manufacturing.

Altobridge solutions are deployed and operational in over 30 countries worldwide.

Altobridge is a privately held company. Shareholders include its employees, Intel Capital, IFC and Enterprise Ireland.

For further information on Altobridge, please contact:

Peter Tuomey, VP Marketing, Altobridge

Tel: +44 7765 665 045

Email: ptuomey@altobridge.com

About Replify

Replify provide WAN optimization and remote application usability software, both to enterprise customers and to OEMs. Replify was first to market with a pure software approach to WAN optimization, now adopted by all vendors, and first again with its unique, patent pending, peer-to-peer caching capability: CLAN.

Replify serves its global customer base from the UK with R&D centred in Belfast.

Replify is a privately held company. Shareholders include its employees, Crescent Capital and eSynergy.

For further information on Replify, please contact:

Paul Moorhead, VP Product Development

Paul.moorhead@replify.com

Mobile World Congress, Barcelona, 27 February, 2012 – Leading Customer Experience Management (CEM) application company, SpeechStorm, will be launching its Mobile CEM applications at MWC 2012, and will be showcasing this new approach in the provision of customer self-service and contact on the ‘Northern Ireland Smart At Work’ stand,1E67 in Hall 1.

SpeechStorm Mobile CEM for iPhone and Android helps organisations reduce call volumes, make more efficient use of resources and improve customer experience by combining effective self-service and a unique way of managing interaction with the contact centre.

SpeechStorm Mobile CEM includes a range of out-of-the-box applications for common self-service functions, which, studies show, account for up to 60% of calls to contact centres.  Providing customers with the information they require at their fingertips reduces the need for them to call the contact centre, resulting in significant savings for the organisation.

For more complex queries, SpeechStorm Mobile CEM manages the interaction to save time and effort for both the customer and the organisation.  Customers are offered a choice of text chat or phone contact, with a countdown display indicating the next available agent.  Customers can choose to connect and wait, request a call-back, or choose an available timeslot for a call, with the option to leave supporting information about their query.  This enables the contact centre to allocate the best resource to respond to the customer’s query, prepare for the call and deal with it more efficiently.

The initial range of SpeechStorm Mobile CEM applications includes contact centre interaction management, as well as account information, order enquiries, store location, credit card and direct debit payments.  Applications can be customised with colour and images to match the organisation’s brand and are fully configurable through a web-based portal to meet the specific needs of banks, telecoms operators, retailers and utilities.

SpeechStorm’s CEO and co-founder, Oliver Lennon, said, “With the SpeechStorm Mobile CEM, we’re applying what we’ve learnt in managing phone-based contact and self-service for organisations like Sky, Comet and Dixons, to create a mobile experience that benefits both customers and the contact centre.  As a customer, there is nothing worse than waiting on hold.  SpeechStorm Mobile CEM takes away that frustration by giving customers the information they need at their fingertips, reducing the need to call and allowing them make informed decisions about the best time to contact.

“Despite the huge numbers of apps available, very few address customer service in a meaningful way.  SpeechStorm offers organisations both effective self-service out-of-the-box, and ensures a smooth transition from app to contact centre for a truly integrated customer service experience.”

Notes for Editors

About SpeechStorm –www.speechstorm.com

SpeechStorm® helps organisations of all sizes make everyday tasks easier for their customers.  We provide pre-built IVR, speech self-service and mobile apps that reduce waiting time for customers and reduce call handling times in the contact centre.  Our solutions are quick to implement and easy to manage, putting the business in control of the customer experience.

For more information, please contact:

Damian Kelly

VP Sales & Marketing

SpeechStorm Limited

Elmwood Exchange

90 Lisburn Road

Belfast

BT9 6AG

Tel: +44 28 9094 3100

E: d.kelly@speechstorm.com

]]> http://www.crescentcapital.co.uk/2012/03/08/speechstorm-launches-mobile-customer-experience-managemetn-applications-at-mobile-world-congress/feed/ 0 http://www.crescentcapital.co.uk/2012/02/23/deirdre-terrins-attends-creative-frontier-networking-evening/ http://www.crescentcapital.co.uk/2012/02/23/deirdre-terrins-attends-creative-frontier-networking-evening/#comments Thu, 23 Feb 2012 15:59:44 +0000 vivienne http://www.crescentcapital.co.uk/?p=670

Deirdre Terrins

Deirdre Terrins of Crescent Capital recently attended the “Creative Frontier” networking evening on Thursday 16th February 2012 hosted in W5, Odyssey, Belfast.

The special preview business event provided the opportunity for local creative entrepreneurs and specialists to discuss the hopes for the future in the creative industries sector.

Presentations were recieved by:

Colin Williams – Founder of television production company Sixteen South. Having worked with the likes of Cbeebies and Sesame Workshop.

Gawain Morrison – Gawain discussed Filmtrip’s work developing cross-platform projects and the creation of tools & services that have a number of uses, from markerting to audience engagement and from interaction to participation.

Gillian Shaw – Gillian is an Intellectual Property Lawyer at Cleaver Fulton Rankin and explained why trade marks, copyright, patents or design rights are likely to be the most valuable asset of any creative business.

PJ Holden – PJ is a comic artist who has worked on Judge Dredd Magazine and 2000AD. He has recently illustrated Robocop vs Terminator for Dynamite Comics. PJ talked about his recent work, developing a creator-owned property, The Dept. of Monsterology, with writer Gordon Rennie for Renegade Arts Entertainment.

Crescent Capital is hoping its third fund will go live by the end of the second quarter this year. The Northern Ireland based fund manager told Ulster Business it is currently working to attract private investors in a bid to get the fund to the point of launching. Crescent is Northern Ireland’s largest venture capital fund manager and has previously operated two funds backed by both private investors and Invest NI, which have supported the growth of successful companies such as Andor Technology, APT and Lagan Technologies.

 Its first fund was valued at £14m and its second at £22m, the latter of which allowed a maximum investment of up to £1.5m in any one deal.

 While Invest NI has never announced it formally, it is well known in the market that Crescent won the tender to manage its new venture capital growth fund in the early part of 2011. Crescent’s goal is to raise a £30m fund, backed by £10m of subordinated funding from Invest NI, money that gives private investors a safety net against potential losses.

Managing Director Colin Walsh said the fund has not been launched sooner because it has become harder to get private investors to commit to the third fund. Because of the economic environment investors are more nervous and are directing funds to the perceived safety of the global brand names in the venture capital market.

“The private investor market is the toughest I have known since 1989 – which was obviously after the crash in 1987. We launched our other funds at good times in the economic cycle, but now we are attempting to get funding at the bottom of the cycle,” he said.

 ”If we closed the fund tomorrow there are investments we could do right away.”  Walsh said Crescent is hopeful the fund will again have input from some wealthy private individuals and Northern Ireland’s two universities, and it is aiming to secure a share of the money allocated to international activities by the New York State pension fund.

With investors taking longer to make decisions about where to deploy funds, Crescent’s investment manager Hal Wilson said the fund would go live in May or June at the earliest, though more likely September or October.

“We’ll never get better pricing on deals than we would today but that on its own is not enough to attract investors. Once the fund is real we will be able to attract other investors,” he said. For the past 18 months Crescent has focused on follow on funding rounds with companies it had previously invested in and preparing companies it might invest in for the venture capital process. Walsh said that with little activity of any scale among other venture capital funds in Northern Ireland it is imperative to have new funding available to companies.

 ”In Northern Ireland we are short of equity provision at every level of the cake,” he said. “Northern Ireland plc needs the investment. The 25 companies we’ve supported over the two funds support close to 2,000 jobs directly and in their supply chain. These are mostly higher value jobs, mostly in the knowledge based economy which is virtually totally export based. That’s a huge benefit to the economy.”

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