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#07 FREE
Autumn 2012
Issue 7 Northern Ireland’s Technology, Science & Innovation Community
q hUBB.IT 07 q DisplayNote 14 q Data Security 18 q Green Future 20
CultureTech Festival
technology science innovation business gaming web finance apps mobile green
www.syncni.com
SYNCNI magazine AUTUMN 2012
Welcome to the Autumn edition of the SyncNi magazine foreword
from Bob Barbour - Director & Chief Executive of Centre for Competitiveness
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Northern Ireland’s Technology, Science & Innovation Community
EDITORIAL SyncNi Team Phone: 028 90820944 Email: info@syncni.com content Emma Leahy Email: emma.leahy@syncni. com ADVERTISING Sales and Advertising: Louise McNally Email: louise.mcnally@syncni. com SUBSCRIPTIONS Email: subscribe@syncni.com
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overnments and business are operating in a time when the global economy continues to be characterised by significant uncertainty. This presents real economic management challenges for businesses and policy makers which includes not losing sight of long term competitiveness fundamentals amidst short term urgencies. It is therefore essential that our academic institutions, government and businesses large and small continue to develop their focus on putting innovation and competitiveness at every level of the economy. The lynchpin is Innovation - the ability to develop new ideas and deploy them in the real world where they create economic and societal value. Innovation creates high-margin business, sustains high-wage jobs and drives productivity. It is the key to solving many of the most pressing challenges and addressing many of the greatest opportunities. The current economic crisis has magnified the importance of being and maintaining an internationally competitive position in the global economy. Competitive economies tend to produce higher levels of income for their citizens. Innovation has taken centre stage in government and industry efforts worldwide to compete and prosper. Cost and quality alone do not determine economic success. This challenge requires visionary leadership within government, business and the trade
union movement bedded down in a real partnership that is effective in promoting a sustainable internationally competitive region. Leadership is less about compliance and much more about effective performance. Visionary leadership will always be met with resistance, but it is essential that it engages the change process. Whilst its necessary to consider options and impact, a continual low risk follower strategy will never win the race. Konrad Adenauer the German statesman who led his country from the ruins of World War II to a powerful and prosperous nation said, ”We all live under the same sky but some of us have different horizons.” Horizons need to be made visible for those who want to see them with support to make a difference. The Centre for Competitiveness has over 700 members in its Innovation and Quality Excellence networks. Through international partnerships it monitors and promotes leading business solutions and accesses firms against the European Innovation capability model free of charge. The Titanic Quarter’s Innovation Centre, supported by Invest NI, also brings technology officers from industry and academia to create start-up businesses that leverages public and private technology investments. For Further information email the Centre on info@cforc.org Bob Barbour Director & Chief Executive Centre for Competitiveness
DESIGN Graphic Design: Niall Mooney Email: niall@syncni.com GENERAL ENQUIRIES Sync NI Northern Ireland Science Park Queen’s Island Belfast BT3 9DT Phone: 028 90820944 Email: info@syncni.com Website: www.syncni.com
PHOTO CREDIT Culture Tech image credits Martin McKeown Website: inpresspics.com COPYRIGHT No part of this publication may be reproduced without the written permission of the copyholder and publisher. SyncNi accepts no responsibility for the accuracy of contributed articles or statements appearing in this magazine and any views or opinions expressed are not necessarily those of SyncNi , unless otherwise indicated. No responsibility for loss or distress associated to any person acting or refraining from acting as a result of the material in this magazine can be accepted by the authors, contributors, editors or publishers. SyncNi does not endorse any goods or services advertised, nor any claims or representations made in any advertisement in this magazine. The recruitment agencies listed are acting as employment agencies on behalf of their clients.
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contents 03 Foreword 06 Introducing: Phlok.me 07 Meeting Hubb.it 08 Patent Box – Is it Enough? 09 Who are Concentrix? 10 CultureTech Festival 14 DisplayNote 15 Andor Technology 16 BYTE Night 2012 17 CyberSource 18 The Future of Data Security 18 Ecoventi 19 Thinking of Starting a Business? 20 Green Future 21 On Course for Success at NISP 22 Upcoming Events
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Introducing: Phlok.me q What is Phlok? Phlok is a new Social Incentive Platform designed to help local businesses take advantage of social media to generate new business, without the headache of figuring out how to build likes and what to say on Facebook. q How does Phlok benefit business, more than other digital incentives/ social loyalty schemes? Loyalty in retail I think is a misnomer. Having customers collect stamps on a card (or an app) may bring a person back but doesn’t lend itself to broadcasting your brand through the person’s social graph (their Facebook friends for example). Phlok has created a system where the user collects points for a variety of activities, checking into your business, following your business profile on Phlok and ultimately making a purchase. Phlok broadcasts these actions onto the Phlok platform and into Facebook as an activity. e.g. ‘Jane got a deal at Acme Coffee and earned 250 Phlok points’ This endorsement by Jane to her friends on Facebook (and to other all users on Phlok) highlights that Acme Coffee could be a good place to try. This broadcast also provides fantastic content for the retailer on social media without them having to post a status update themselves. Phlok points, when redeemed, can be spent in any participating Phlok partner store. So you the user can decide what your reward is rather than Phlok or the retailer! Collect points at restaurants, bars and cafes and buy, for example, a pair of jeans with them. The restaurants. Bars and cafes get extra footfall and lots of sales and the clothes retailer gets an extra (higher value) sale. Everyone wins! Phlok is designed to be as passive and automatic for a retailer or as
proactive as they wish. The interactive analytics provided to the retailer gives the opportunity to send targeted message offerings or rewards to individual followers or groups of followers. E.g. Filter your followers by birthday next month and send them a Private message along the lines of ‘An early happy birthday from Acme Coffee! Show us this message and claim your first birthday gift, Coffee and buns for two, half price!’ We even see retailers that have used daily deals sites, want to use Phlok to create long term value by having the consumer follow them on Phlok so they can market them again. q What has been the biggest challenge that you have faced since starting up? There are several challenges in building something as ambitious as Phlok but the most obvious for me in hindsight is having patience! We pushed Phlok out early to get good user testing data, and had to fine tune elements of the platform in response to findings. No matter how much time you budget, it never seems to be enough, and of course it’s always more expensive! Even the famous overnight successes in Tech or otherwise took years to get where they are!
q What advice would you give a startup company? An idea is only an idea until you execute! Don’t be afraid to try, bootstrap (work all night while doing your paid job during the day) until you are in a position to generate revenue. Listen to user feedback and when people tell you you’re mad or are skeptical dig in and refocus. If it was easy, everyone would do it! q Finally, if you could sum up your company ethos in 1 word what would that be? Driven. Paul Graham Phlok.me
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Meeting:
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Hubb.it
q Can you tell us a bit about Hubb.it and how it works? Hubb.it is the global, indie music & digital events community created by Catherine Morris and Breda Doherty. It caters for the attendees and organisers of events with a music, arts and/or digital focus. It helps event goers plan their attendance and connect with other event members. Most uniquely it provides attendees with a voice to rate and review their experiences of the events. The latter in turn provides organisers with the feedback they need to make their events better and ensure its continuity. Basically, it’s one central hub around the whole of the event experience, which we hope to grow into a thriving niche event community. q What gave you the idea to start Hubb.it? We both regularly attend festivals and conferences. We got the idea to start Hubb.it when we attended and initially met at SXSW in 2011. We realised we’d both experienced the same frustrations when planning our attendance at the Austin located event such as where to stay, tips to get the best out of the event and how to meet other people attending. We thought surely this should be easier, especially with the tools and service available today? So we started thinking how we could solve these problems and kept coming back to this idea of one central hub pulling in all the main information to help plan your attendance but also capture any frustrations people had with the event; a functionality now all available through Hubb.it. q What has been the biggest challenge that you have faced since starting up? Most people say the biggest challenge in starting up a company is actually being able to execute the idea; which we’ve achieved. For us the biggest challenge (which is ongoing ) is that even though we’ve been pretty successful in securing funding there’s also the red tape of having to pay for everything up front ourselves and then claim the money back. This means we can’t move as quickly or as effectively as we’d like. q What advice would you give a start- up company? Firstly if you have an idea, take the time to research
how much that idea is really needed; it’s harder to build an audience for a product than it is to build a product for an audience. If you’ve definitely identified a gap in the market work with who you’d think would benefit from this and constantly get their feedback. This is something we’ve always done with Hubb.it and our conversations with existing community members around how they’d like to see Hubb.it develop is our most valuable source of information. We have also worked closely with organisers to develop the rating functionality on the site to ensure it captures useful feedback for them; this functionality is now live on the site. On a more personal level, only start a company if you’re willing to put the hours in; there’s no days off!
q Finally, if you could sum up your company ethos in 1 word what would that be? Determined
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Patent Box
Good idea, but is it enough?
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n trying to entice investment into the UK, the Government’s hope is that the new Patent Box Regime will encourage more businesses to locate their IP or research and development centres in the UK.
The draft Patent Box legislation was published in December 2001 and outlined the proposal to tax a UK company on its worldwide income arising from existing and new patents at a rate (once fully implemented) of 10% rather than the 2013 corporation tax rate of 23%. Whilst attractive on the face of it, the Regime won’t be open to all companies holding IP - to qualify, a company will need to hold qualifying IP rights or an exclusive licence in respect of qualifying IP rights and receive income from those rights. In other words, the company must be actively involved in the exploitation of a patent or be actively managing it, and it must receive income from the IP rights. That means that passive IP holding companies will not qualify for the Regime. In order for a patent to qualify, it must be granted by the UK Intellectual Property Office or the European Patent Office. Companies will also benefit from the Patent Box Regime if the patent is granted by specified EEA countries which have similar examination and patentability criteria as the UK. The Regime will also apply to preexisting IP and to acquired IP where the company has further developed the IP
or the product which incorporates it. The reduced tax rate under the Regime relates to profits rather than gross income and to qualify those profits have to fall within one of the following categories: q profits from worldwide sales of the patented item or a product that derives its value (or some of it) from the patent; q worldwide licence fees and royalties generated by third party use of the patented product; q profits from the sale or disposal of the patent rights; q payments generated by third-party infringement; and q any other compensation, for use of the patent. Whilst the Patent Box Regime only applies to profits from patents that have been granted, the Regime does include a ”look-back” mechanism and income that is derived from a patent, or a product deriving its value from the patent, and that is earned in the period between application for and grant of a patent may benefit from the reduced rate of tax in the year when the patent is granted. In this scenario a company will be able to calculate what the relevant IP profits would have been, for the period between application and grant. The aggregate amount for this period will be added to the relevant IP profits in the year in which the patent is actually granted. The benefit of the look-back provision will only extend to
Dawn McKnight Partner @ Carson McDowell Tel: 028 9034 8917 Email:dawn.mcknight@carsonmcdowell.com
six years of relevant income. If it takes longer than six years to obtain the grant of a patent then the additional income will not be covered by the Regime. Whilst it’s better to have the Patent Box than not to have it, it remains to be seen whether the UK Government has done enough to attract the levels of foreign direct investment hoped for. After all, the Netherlands and Luxembourg apply rates of 5 and 6 per cent respectively on patent related profits under similar schemes and the likes of Ireland offers low tax rates generally and without the need to demonstrate exploitation of patents.
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Who are Concentrix? C oncentrix Europe in Belfast (formerly gem, a privately owned contact centre) is part of Concentrix Corporation, a wholly owned subsidiary of SYNNEX, a Fortune 500 corporation. We deliver award-winning platforms, people and services, providing our clients with the ability to support high-value interactions at every stage of the customer lifecycle. We have locations in the Philippines, China, Costa Rica, Nicaragua, the US, UK, Hungary, India and Japan, and have over 7,500 employees working in over 33 languages worldwide.
Since acquisition and rebranding as Concentrix in Belfast, we have seen a growth in our outsourcing work, and also the development of the ‘Concentrix Application Development Centre of Excellence’. The Centre’s development team works on building, refining and deploying Concentrix technology platform, RenewalsManagerTM.
Can you tell us more about RenewalsManager?
RenewalsManager is designed to help IT Vendors and OEMs increase renewal revenue and customer retention by simplifying support contract and subscription management. It’s quick and easy to deploy, and the platform manages the entire renewals process, from data management to initial customer contact and final analysis of results.
The RenewalsManager suite is designed to provide comprehensive reporting for complete visibility, process automation and full-featured functionality. The key value is in helping our customers ”mine” the hidden revenue— diamonds in the rough—which is often buried under manual and often error-prone processes. Renewals management aligns perfectly with our overall commitment to supporting our clients and those that they serve at every stage of the customer life cycle. The benefits of RenewalsManager can be summed up as q Expanded potential q Flexible control q Customer satisfaction q Savings
So RenewalsManager is well established, where does Belfast fit in? Concentrix renewals solutions are built on more than 11 years of development and the proving ground provided by a diverse range of clients. These include major traditional and online retailers, consumer and business software companies, telecoms companies, and manufacturers of networking and communications equipment. Up to now our main centre of development has been in England. However since our integration with gem, our Belfast location is now our focus for building our ‘Concentrix Application Development Centre of Excellence’. This is our high performing, leading edge software development (.NET, Microsoft) centre that will deliver key software products (SaaS) for our Global Application Platform business. Concentrix Applications are critical to our growth over the coming 5 years, and we are delighted to be able to invest in the technology talent pool in Northern Ireland to help us drive this growth. The brand new centre, formed in April 2012, is based in Lesley Exchange, just a short walk from Belfast city centre. In Belfast we are building a creative, likeminded team from home-grown talent working in Agile Development. The team works with an open mind in a fast pace environment, offering the opportunity to work at every stage of the technology deployment, from its initial conception through to the live stages. The team is led by project manager Stephen Lawless and comprises C# developers, test engineers, application support analyst and data analyst. At present, we have a small team of 11 but looking to grow to 20 by the end of this quarter. We are looking for likeminded individuals to join the team; you can find our current vacancies on our website or syncni.com.
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CultureTech 2012 Roundup
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ith Digital Technology influencing all of our lives from the way we work to the games we play, it is no surprise that the digital industries continue to be some of the most prosperous in the world. Northern Ireland is no exception to this with a host of Innovative companies and a budding technology industry. Technology affects almost every industry we have, yet generally our industry events celebrating this sector are almost exclusively attended by ”techies”… but this is all changing! Towards the end of summer 2012 thousands of people were privileged to witness the beginning of such change with the first every CultureTech festival brought to our home soil and hosted by Digital Derry Champion Mark Nagurski and his CultureTech team. For four days Derry ~ Londonderry laid a veritable banquet of digital culture, inviting people from across the country and further afield, to channel their inner geek, ‘meet a few people they wouldn’t normally meet, see a few things they wouldn’t otherwise see and hear a few things they wouldn’t otherwise hear’, and for some, finally greet the faces behind the Twitter avatars. The festival kicked off with a series of presentations from a top-notch line-up of marketing professionals from across
Niamh Reynolds, Google’s marketing manger for the UK and Ireland, who was one of the speakers on online marketing during the CultureTech Festival
Ben Hammersley from Wired UK and Mark Nagurski from Digital Derry at the launch of the CultureTech Festival
Northern Ireland, covering everything from email marketing and social media to web analytics. Whether it was the lively ‘no-nonsense’ presentation from Grow Sale’s Online Nichola Bates, who challenged the audience on whether they were ”good enough”, the infinite knowledge of iON’s Niall Mc Keown or Google’s Niamh Reynolds discussion on Google docs new multiple user editor, the Twitter streams were flooded with comments from those attending the events that were soaking up the advice from the high calibre of local experts. Digital Advertising NI’s (DANI) Naomh McElhatton, who offered an engaging workshop on online advertising opportunities, had this to say ”I feel very proud to have been a part of the first ever CultureTech! The event was planned to perfection and gathered such a diverse mix of talented people from across a range of sectors. She continues ”Mark Nagurski deserves a medal for embarking and delivering such a fabulous event - I can see this getting bigger and bigger!” Also speaking at the event was Jill Robb, Managing Director of Digital Marketing and E-Commerce consultancy Ambition Digital who delivered a captivating ‘Digital Marketing DoJo’ Workshop. In addition to speaking at the event CultureTech was also an opportunity for Jill, and many other entrepreneurs, to showcase their new businesses to the large influx of visitors at the festival. Jill comments on exhibiting ”We wanted to exhibit at
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CultureTech as we felt that the whole event was going to be one of the most successful digital events in NI so we wanted to ensure that we took part. We weren’t disappointed! Although Ambition Digital (an Excel Ecommerce Ltd company) isn’t technically a start-up, we have a new brand and a bigger, better team who are really focused on driving results for our clients”. She continues: ”We wanted to introduce our very different approach and share some of the ways that we help achieve fantastic results. Consequently the profile of Ambition Digital has most certainly increased, we have received a lot of interest and most importantly us, and those who came to speak to us, had fun!” Similarly, launching at CultureTech was all female Irish start-up Hubb.it who held a packed launch party in the Craft Village. Founded by Breda Doherty and Catherine Morris, Hubb.it is the global event community catering for events with a music, arts or digital focus, and gives attendees a voice. Catherine Morris comments ”We couldn’t be happier with the success of our launch at CultureTech and how genuinely excited people seem to be about Hubb.it. It was great to work with the CultureTech organisers and we appreciate the trust they put in us at such an early stage in our start-up journey”. Importantly the launch enabled Hubb. it to get their name out to their intended audience of event attendees and organisers, whilst celebrating how far they have come since winning at SeedComp last year. Catherine continues ”We’ve got a lot of work to do post CultureTech but we’re excited about the changes coming to Hubb.it over the next few months and we are working with some really quality festivals” She concludes “We were so happy with the turn out, with Key note speakers like Ben Hammersley and Greg Fraley coming along to celebrate with us. The launch wouldn’t have been possible without the support of Mark Nagurski of CultureTech and our launch sponsors Sync NI and SeedUps”.
Micael Faulkner, left and Connor Doherty, right from Seedups pictured with Breda Doherty and Catherine Morris from new festival review website Hubb.it
a gaming hub for the CultureTech delegates and the local public to enjoy. Delivered in partnership with Bloc54, the games arcade showcased local talent from the NI gaming industry and included Black Market Games and BatCat Games. Derry ~ Londonderry based Troll Inc. showcased their first release Jellyflug; a new micro-platforming adventure game for Apple and Android Device at the arcade. For Troll.inc the festival offered them the chance to introduce the new game into the local marketplace and obtain valuable feedback. Troll Incs. Jim Murray comments ”We had such a high demand throughout the week with lots of interest from people and the feedback has been fantastic”. He continues ”CultureTech was also great as a networking session. Even at the games arcade we met so many people interested in game development, from younger children wanting to someday get into the industry to parents who develop games as a hobby”. Alongside this, CultureTech invited a wealth of interesting speakers to inspire and entertain us throughout the four
For NI’s gaming companies CultureTech offered a fantastic platform to demo their work to the public. There was also some inspiring presentations from some of the most exciting and ground breaking games and interactive content developers including Phil Campbell of Tomb Raider fame and Six to Start CEO Adrian Hon. Furthermore, the retro arcade games and live games tournament meant that the gaming aspect of the festival certainly didn’t disappoint, in fact alongside the music shows and entertainment, it provided a common ground for the tech community and general public to all get involved. This was evidenced by the popularity of the mini arcade that transformed part of Foyleside shopping centre into
Enjoying the Digital Funfair at CultureTech Festival
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Devil’s new workflow management tool ‘Planzai’ was used to work through attendees’ start-up ideas to see if they were feasible. The results of which unearthed some truly innovative and exciting ideas so watch this space!
Launch of a new Derry Coderdojo computer club for boys and girls as young as 11 at CultureTech. The Club was presented with five new Note Book computers by BT
days. The Big ideas ‘TED-style’ sessions covered everything from music to technology and enlightened us on how the digital age is transforming cities and cultures to suit an ever-changing digital landscape. The event hosted a range of influential speakers , such as: Andrew Zarich of Digital DUMBO (sporting a local Derry jersey) who described how less affluent areas of Brooklyn NY became the perfect creative hub for digital companies and high tech entrepreneurs looking for cheaper rent; Joe Cohen founder of Seatwave, spoke about the ever growing need for technology skills and discussed how we can keep up with the skills gap; Alan Moore, described as a charismatic visionary, educated the audience on making sense of a non-linear world; whilst Oscar Jazowski, Head of Origination for Silicon Valley Bank’s UK office, spoke with digital media companies looking at ways of funding investment.
For those interested in a media career, there were sessions on TV, film and journalism and a secret cinema showing iconic film classics scattered throughout the city. Channel 4’s ‘4 Sessions’ was especially popular with an interesting discussion led by Hilary Perkins, Multiplatform Commissioning Editor of Drama & Film at Channel 4. This session concentrated on how to use digital platforms to tell a story and build relationships with your audience amidst the ‘2 screen phenomenon’. If that wasn’t enough, Local company ‘360 production’ previewed a screening of their production of the latest in the ”James May’s Things You Need to Know” series at their production party! Budding music enthusiasts were not disappointed either as they were treated to sessions from ”How to create an awesome music video on a shoestring” to, ‘Sonic sounds’, a masterclass in electronic dance music production. These sessions gathered some of the key global players responsible for the music you hear in advertising, television and lm and included Marsha Shandur, Music Supervisor for Channel 4’s hugely popular ‘The Inbetweeners’. With Duke Special headlining, along with local band Japanese Popstars and a host of other talents, the music element of the festival brought something for everyone. Primarily CultureTech was designed to be a fun packed experience inclusive of everyone, welcoming the public into the world of digital media and technology and celebrate the success of this industry. Consequently the digital funfair, featuring a virtual coconut shy, the ‘movie screens
Additionally the keynote speakers Kath Mainland, CEO of the Edinburgh Fringe and Ben Hammersley of Wired UK and Downing Street’s Ambassador to Tech City educated the audience with their own experience of digital technology in their work. Sir Nicholas Kenyon, MD of Barbican Centre, in particular gave a truly thought provoking presentation exploring the ways in which technology has enabled businesses to enrich the audience experience. This presentation sparked an interesting discussion on Twitter about the relationship between culture and technology and really nailed the CultureTech philosophy! As well as the speakers, the festival was filled with infopacked workshops and networking sessions occupying everything from digital arts, animation and publishing to software, TV and mobile. A particularly useful workshop was the ‘Planzai Ideas Lunch’ hosted by Crafty Devil’s Rich Dale and facilitated by start-up advisor and academic Andrew Dubber. In this workshop, the blueprint of Crafty
Dan Brazelton from San Francisco whose comapany Tall Chair Inc. has created the technology which is used by Disney in their Interactive Books
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business excellence. The Digital Derry link-up with Tech City is anticipated to result in 100 companies setting up business in the city, which is expected to attract further investment into existing businesses. This is an exciting relationship and symbolises what CultureTech was aiming to promote.
The Mayor Councillor Kevin Campbell who became a digital DJ during the Digital Funfair in Waterloo
and frickin laser beams’ shows and the Digital graffiti SMS Slingshot that temporarily graphitised the City Walls helped attract over 10,000 people to the celebrations. However, amongst the comedy acts, gaming arcades and laser shows there was a more serious aspect of the festival. CultureTech gave new businesses a spotlight to promote their work and make some great business connections. One such company Rotor knows this more than most. Two months prior to the event the team behind the CultureTech Festival, Digital Derry, announced a £20,000 competition for digital start-ups called Seedcomp, which invited both the young and old to come forward with a brand new digital business idea and present to a judging panel of investors and entrepreneurs. The winner was announced live at CultureTech receiving £10,000 alongside two runner-up’s who received £5000. The Winner of this year’s ILEX sponsored Seedcomp Diarmuid Moloney from Rotor, an automatic Music Video Generator, comments ”As a digital startup company, SeedComp was the perfect opportunity to help progress my business idea to the next level. Receiving £10K to develop Rotor was amazing in itself, but the exposure I’ve gained from presenting on stage and the connections I’ve made as a result are priceless. My business has been catapulted forwards in terms of recognition and the prize money will help me to build a substantial demo that will go live in three months’ time. He continues ”I am extremely grateful to Digital Derry for all their help. Their guidance and support has been of paramount importance. To achieve this by myself would have taken a considerable amount of time, money and effort. I look forward to my next round of funding!” The icing on the cake was undoubtedly Ben Hammersley’s announcement of the twinning between Digital Derry and East London’s Tech City. This is an important step in the city’s drive to be recognised as a European centre of digital
Granting it is true that CultureTech is not the only event to shine a light on NI’s Tech sector; many attendees agreed that it was the cultural element of the festival that really brought it into its own. Of course none of this would have been possible without the dedicated members of the CultureTech team, the event sponsors (Londonderry Chamber of Commerce, Derry City Council, Seagate, ILEX and Invest NI) and a host of fantastic partners, who helped bring the festival together. Although the festival is now over, the magic surrounding the event certainly hasn’t disappeared, and already people from the tech community and public members
‘‘The festival exceeded our expectations with over 10,000 people involved in CultureTech.’’ are asking, ‘what next?’. Digital Derry Champion and principle CultureTech organiser, Mark Nagurski comments ”CultureTech was only the beginning of our plans and a taster of what to expect to see when Derry takes up its title as first ever UK City of Culture in 2013” He continues ”The festival exceeded our expectations with over 10,000 people involved in CultureTech in total and I’m relieved that it all came together in the end - and everyone seems to have enjoyed themselves. The feedback from the speakers in particular has been brilliant and, personally, I was delighted to see so many kids and families involved in Saturday’s events - it’s exactly what we wanted this event to do, engage with everyone, not just the people in the industry”. Mr Nagurski adds ”Many people were involved in making this festival a success and a lot of effort was put into it. Our plans now are to see how we could take this forward in the future. It would be great to do another one, provided everything comes together!” On behalf of everyone who attended CultureTech Sync NI would like to take this opportunity to thank Mark Nagurski and the entire Digital Derry team for delivering one of Nothern Ireland’s most talked about events of the summer and we hope for many more CultureTech’s in the future! To finish on a quote from Keynote speaker Sir Nicholas Kenyon ”Keep going Mark , the city (and Nothern Ireland) is behind you!”.
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DisplayNote and the Art of Digital Exports By Ben Bland, Northern Ireland Science Park
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n theory, internet connectivity should mean that a person or company can operate from a laptop anywhere they can get online. So why aren’t we all working from home? Or from that favourite café in town? Or, better, why not the deck of a boat in the Caribbean? It seems that it’s not that easy in reality. What the sociologists call ‘geographical propinquity’ can be a make-or-break factor in launching a successful business. This ignites the inevitable question: should we stop trying to build global businesses from Northern Ireland and instead all move to California?
hugely popular apps – the likes of Webex and Evernote – but nobody is doing all of it in the same place and keeping all the user’s work together. It’s a game-changer for teaching and presenting environments, and it’s being innovated in Northern Ireland.
Fortunately the answer seems to be no. One local startup to watch is DisplayNote, which is currently operating from an office at Northern Ireland Science Park and already playing on the world stage. Visit DisplayNote’s website and it looks like an archetypal web product, that could easily have been built in Silicon Valley. There are no obvious signs of where the company is located and even the video introduction is narrated in an American accent. This kind of global branding, and global mind-set, makes good sense in an increasingly connected world. DisplayNote is an application that allows many users to view and collaborate on shared notes from their own devices. It means that people can present information from one device (from pretty much any application: presentations, documents, videos and suchlike) while others view, annotate, illustrate, discuss and share that information in real time from whatever device they have with them. Most of DisplayNote’s features are already covered by some
We were invited to a quick demonstration of DisplayNote by CEO Paul Brown and were blown away. It was one of those thrilling moments where it felt like we could have been some of the first people to witness something that everyone would soon be talking about. Of course nobody can predict how successful the company will be, but all the right buttons were being pressed. Critically, it’s easy to imagine using the product in real life. The app is ready to go, the team is just waiting for the iTunes App Store to accept the submission. At the same time the DisplayNote team, under Paul’s leadership, has made some big moves by signing with global technology brands to embed the application in their hardware, thus being able to ship on a large scale. They are in negotiations with Ivy League universities and entire US school districts. Resellers from all corners of the world are also signing with the company. Although the jet lag from the business trips to the West Coast may be having its toll on the team, DisplayNote is a great example of a product that could affect millions of people worldwide, while being headquartered in Belfast. Local companies with digital products are no longer thinking locally, it’s global or nothing.
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Sustained Engineering and Manufacturing Excellence at Andor Technology
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ndor Technology continues to be one of the UK’s success stories, maintaining strong sales in a time of economic uncertainty. Recently Andor added another substantial achievement as finalists in the prestigious MacRoberts Awards from the Royal Academy of Engineering. This success highlights not only the innovative nature of Andor’s products but also the drive and determination of its staff to excel in their field of work. Here we get some insights from Oliver Petersen, sCMOS Solutions Manager, and George Wright, Senior Software Engineer, about life at Andor.
Q>
Could you tell us about your background and why you were attracted to Andor?
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Oliver – I studied Electronic Engineering at Universität Darmstadt in Germany and worked in a number of large companies before moving to Andor from Flextronics. I was looking for a new challenge, which I found in Andor working on pioneering developments and liaising closely with other departments. I was attracted to Andor because of its cutting edge technology and its continuous drive for change and innovation. George – I received my PhD in Signal Processing from the University of Ulster. I have always enjoyed working with both software and hardware but tended to stick to smaller companies, often start-ups. I came to Andor 2 years ago as I wanted new challenges in a different environment. Friends that had worked at Andor spoke with such high
regard about the innovative approach it took and how well it looked after staff. It was also reassuring to have the job security that comes with such a wellestablished organisation.
Q> A<
How do you find working at Andor?
Oliver - It has been great! I joined 5 years ago when there were 160 people. There are now over 320 worldwide and we continue to grow. I have been able to work on a variety of projects, which are both interesting and challenging and I always feel well supported by all involved. The company’s growth also creates excellent career opportunities, as new teams are created and pioneering projects, such as Neo sCMOS, are developed.
essentially enabling scientific research that was previously impossible. George – These capabilities are in huge demand within the scientific community and so Neo and our other sCMOS products will help continue Andor’s success in the coming years. This will mean more growth for the company and more career opportunities in all departments, particularly engineering. Oliver - Innovation, commercial success and the contribution to science and job creation is why the Neo was nominated for the MacRobert awards and finished ahead of the 40 nominations, drawn from every field of world-class engineering. It’s also very satisfying to know that our projects are making a difference.
George – There is excellent teamwork here and we are always aiming to be flexible and responsive. Working on the Neo project has been an exciting experience, allowing me to really challenge myself. As this is a completely new camera we have started with a clean slate and have had the opportunity to contribute our own ideas from the ground up.
Q>
The Neo sCMOS project recently received the MacRoberts Awards nomination. Can you tell us a little about this?
This figure highlights the importance of the new sCMOS technology for scientific research, emphasising the improvement in image quality when Oliver –Neo, the scientific grade comparing new sCMOS technology and CMOS camera builds on Andor’s the old CCD technology. The two images technology leadership providing imaging are taken with low light fluorescent cell, red. and low light fluorescent cell, green. without compromise.. Our product is
A<
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SYNCNI magazine AUTUMN 2012
BYTE Night 2012: Bedding down in Belfast
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or those who thought that 2012 was getting slightly too London-centric, we have some good news! Put down your javelin, dust off your sleeping bag and get ready for Belfast 2012.
This October Byte Night is launching a Belfast sleep-out in addition to events in Cambridge, Edinburgh, London and Reading, due to rising demand from charity sleepers. We are confident this new addition will help us to smash through the £5m fundraising mark since the event began. Byte Night is an annual sleep out which takes place each October in support of Action for Children. Each year hundreds of individuals and teams from across the technology and business community spend a night exposed to the elements to raise sponsorship and awareness of Action for Children’s work. Byte Night is more than a symbolic gesture; it transforms the lives of vulnerable and neglected young people across the UK.
pounds to keep vulnerable young people off the streets and enable them to build better lives for themselves. On the Belfast Board we have: Digital Champion at Digital Derry, Founder of OwnBrandMedia and organiser of CultureTech, Mark Nagurski; Freelance Social Media and Digital Strategy consultant Ben Bland; Emerald Valley II (EVII) founder Nichola Bates , Julie Collins , Marketing Director at EVII, i3 CEO and Founder Adrian Bradley and Richard McMullan, Managing Director of Sliderobes. In addition to this Sync NI have agreed to be Media Partners for Byte Night and we welcome Web Content Executive Emma Leahy to the board. Belfast’s burgeoning technology industry is a source of genuine optimism in Northern Ireland. With over a third of Northern Ireland’s workforce employed in the increasingly strained public sector, technology is providing a beacon of hope. We hope to tap into the “can do” attitude of Belfast’s technology companies and establish Byte Night Belfast as a key event in the city’s calendar.
Previous Byte Night participants
The night will offer a chance to experience a small taste of what it is like to be homeless in Northern Ireland and show support for Action for Children’s work, as well as being a great opportunity to network and catch-up with peers.
We are incredibly excited at the prospect of launching a brand new sleep-out, especially in a city as dynamic as Belfast. Byte Night is not just a London-based event; having had sleep-outs in Thames Valley for the last five years, Scotland for the last four years, and Cambridge for the last two years, the regional support we receive from across the UK is phenomenal. We anticipate our first Belfast event to be no exception!
Ken Deeks is the founder of Byte Night. ”Since its inception in 1998, Byte Night has raised more than £4.3m towards Action for Children’s work providing vital help and support to vulnerable young people across the UK. Advice, budgeting skills and counselling, education and training programmes and vital accommodation are given to hundreds of young people at risk of homelessness every year”
Each location is managed by its own board – a stellar cast of senior names from the technology and business worlds all working together to help raise thousands of
The Byte Night 2012 sleep out will take place on Friday 5 October at The Belfast Activity Centre. Sign up to sleep-out by visiting www.bytenight.org.uk.
c SYNCNI magazine AUTUMN 2012
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CyberSource NI – Four Years on
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n 2008, CyberSource Corporation, a leading provider of electronic payment and risk management worldwide, announced at the US-Northern Ireland investment conference its plans to invest almost £3 million in its Belfast software development lab. At a time where the global recession was in its infancy, many businesses, despite their interest in Northern Ireland, opted not to invest in the location. CyberSource with the support of Invest NI is one of the few success stories to emerge from the high profile conference.
software solutions that help over 370,000 global customers securely process payments for goods and services purchased online. Belfast’s 75-person strong team has responsibility for CyberSource’s payment security and international payment acceptance global product sets. The Northern Ireland team is a key driver and instigator of innovation within CyberSource globally. Over the past four years, the Belfast team has been mission critical in the development and roll out of several key product sets for CyberSource globally.
Recalling the event, current Head of Cybersource Product Development, Neil Buckley who was actively involved in the establishment of CyberSource NI, explains ”Just over four years ago, Cybersource made the decision to accelerate the growth our product development team in support of our rapidly expanding payment management business. That search for engineering talent brought us to NI where we quickly came to the conclusion that we could attract high calibre engineers. Our experience to date has exceeded
The success of the Northern Ireland operation is testament to both the strategic approach CyberSource takes to recruitment and the availability of technical talent in Northern Ireland. The Belfast team is focused on building a skill base with the capability, initiative and passion that embodies its pursuit of technical excellence. Cybersource staff are empowered to use their creativity and technical capability to shape the future of CyberSource’s product sets. The Belfast Centre is continuing to grow, as Brendan
those early expectations. Since 2008, we’ve been able to recruit talented engineers at all levels. The Belfast team continues to deliver high quality, innovative products and is a valuable part of the Cybersource global product development team. We look forward to continuing our expansion in Northern Ireland and being part of a vibrant IT community”.
Smyth, Director of Development comments ”With the right people, the ability and the passion, the team in NI has proven and been recognised by colleagues to be among the best anywhere. As we grow we trust that our approach to recruitment will continue to cultivate a team that represent the culture and ethos of CyberSource NI”.
Four years on, CyberSource against a backdrop of adverse economic conditions has grown both at a global and local level; acquiring new customers and penetrating new markets it has grown from strength to strength, its acquisition by Visa in 2010 has enhanced market confidence in its offerings and it continues to be a dominant player in the payments industry. The Northern Ireland development lab, alongside its US counterparts, are focused on delivering world-class
CyberSource believes that its approach to recruitment attracts and retains some of the best engineering talent that Northern Ireland has to offer. It believes it will sustain its position as an employer of choice within the software engineering community in its forthcoming recruitment campaigns and is confident that the next generation of technical professionals within the software engineering domain will be equipped with the curiosity, courage and impact that will allow Northern Ireland to prosper as a true knowledge economy.
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SYNCNI magazine AUTUMN 2012
The Future of Data Security: What you need to know today, to plan for the future
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dentity theft. Hacking. Viruses. Cyberstalking. Not only can businesses be impacted financially if attacked, but their brand image can suffer, consumer trust can diminish and they can be held liable for leaked data. With technology moving forward at breakneck speed, companies are constantly upgrading their computer hardware and devices and recycling, selling, donating or discarding hardware. ”Because of this trend, the proper disposal of aging and obsolete hardware is of critical concern,” says Keith Pryde, Regional Sales Manager, Shred-it NI. When hardware is not properly disposed of the company’s reputation is put in jeopardy, business
bottom lines are at risk and inevitably IT professionals’ jobs are put in danger. ”Businesses and IT managers need to know that erasing, reformatting, wiping and degaussing of electronic documents from a hard drive or a USB stick doesn’t necessarily mean information is gone forever - data can still be recovered,” Keith Pryde. The only 100% secure way to permanently eradicate information is to securely destroy the hardware itself by crushing it, rendering items such as old hard drives and memory sticks completely useless and beyond repair. Shred‑it NI provides secure electronic destruction services and can advise your business on how to adopt the most compliant and up to date
information management solution. Shred‑it NI is proud to be one if the few UK organisations who to date have been awarded the European wide security standard accreditation ISO EN15713:2009 for the secure Destruction of Confidential Material.
Contact us for advice and to get a copy of our free mini guide to ensure your business meets national and European information management regulations. Tel: 0800 028 1164 Web: www.shredit.co.uk.
Ecoventi offer new Pay-As-You-Save service
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coventi, a company that designs and supplies tailored bespoke energy saving solutions, have introduced a new Pay-As-You-Save plan. This plan is as simple as it sounds; month by month you pay for energy saving products, as month by month those very same products are saving you substantial amounts of money. This affords you the opportunity to invest in energy efficient solutions without major capital investment.
comfortably cover the cost of payments, however because there is no capital cost to worry about, Ecoventi can get the products installed straight away. What’s more, as the payments are fixed, any future rises in energy costs will improve the level of savings. Once the products are paid for, they are yours to keep and so is all of the profit they are generating through savings.
If you were to take a close look at the amount of energy your company is The Pay-As-You-Save plan gives wasting right now, you would probably every company access to unique energy find that each month you are already saving expertise and products, from the spending the money it would take to purchase the energy saving products smallest SME to the largest Blue Chip you need via our Pay-As-You-Save Organization, providing an immediate return on investment. plan. So in effect the buying decision has already been made, you are going Usually Pay-As-You-Save plan would to spend the money - the only question is; what are you going to have to show involve a medium term agreement for it? where the energy savings projected
Technologies include: q Waste Collection q Voltage Optimisation q LED Lighting q Savacontrol q Electric Vehicle Charging Solutions q Green Air Conditioning and Heating Solutions q Water Management q Biomass
For further information: Tel: 08448871213 Web: www.ecoventi.co.uk
c SYNCNI magazine AUTUMN 2012
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Thinking of Starting a Business?
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ou may have always wanted to start your own business or have to start a business out of necessity. Either way, there is no perfect approach but the following steps are usually involved once you decide to be your own boss.
q Develop Your Idea Consider what you enjoy doing and the type of skills you have and then explore the market to see if there are any obvious gaps. q Research the Market The best market research can be done by you and is as simple as finding out the facts of the market you are about to enter, identify where customers will come from and define the likely size of the market for your product or service q Write a Business Plan Writing a business plan will help to clarify your thinking and is essential for talking to banks and potential investors. q Draft a Budget Develop a realistic budget on the assumption that everything will cost more and take longer than you first think. You will always need more money than youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re initial estimates, so revisit your figures a number of times. q Appoint Advisors Choose your accountant, solicitor and other advisors to ensure your finance, tax and legal affairs are in order from the outset. q Choose a Structure Decide on the best structure for the
business in the short and long-term and take the necessary professional advice.
q Raise Finance Decide on how much money you will need to start the business and identify where it will come from: self, family, friends, bank or investors. q Decide on a Location Decide on a location for the business and whether to rent, buy or lease premises or, alternatively, work from home. q Recruit Staff Decide on the number of staff you will need and the type of skills they will need to add value to the business. q Generate Sales Develop a sales plan and set monthly targets. Decide how to use marketing and digital and social media to promote the business. Make your first sale, quickly followed by the second. q Develop a Support Network Develop links with support agencies and meet with and learn from other business owners, entrepreneurs and mentors. SO, if you are thinking of starting a business begin with the idea, research the market, work out your finances, seek advice and when you are ready TAKE ACTION.
Thinking of starting a business? Get in touch, we would love to hear your views contact Nick on 028 8224 9494 or find him on Twitter @nick_oec
Dr Nick Oâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;Shiel Chief Executive Omagh Enterprise Company
About Omagh Enterprise Omagh Enterprise Company was established in 1984 as the local enterprise agency for the Omagh District Council area. The organisation is a not-for-profit company limited by guarantee with a strong management team and a voluntary board of directors, representative of the local business community. The organisations aim is to promote enterprise and support start-up, growth and innovative businesses in the Omagh area, providing business premises to let and Conference Centre Facilities. For all enquiries contact: Tel: 028 8224 9494 Fax: 028 8224 9451 Web: www.omaghenterprise. co.uk Email: info@omaghenterprise. co.uk
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SYNCNI magazine AUTUMN 2012
Green Future NI presents Northern Irelands first zero carbon home A blue-print superior performing build capable of near-zero energy bills
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orthern Ireland’s leading sustainable construction and green energy technology firm Green Future NI (www.zerocarbonhouse. eu) was established in 2012 and already has achieved building Northern Irelands first ever zero carbon house aptly named the ‘Green Future House’. This pioneering zero carbon blue-print build showcases how affordable and accessible it is to build an energy cost saving zero carbon house. This ‘Green Future House’ not only meets but exceeds the Government’s required transition to mass construction of new ‘zero carbon homes’ by 2016. Officially opened back in March by Minister for the Environment Alex Attwood MLA and his Irish counterpart Phil Hogan T.D the ‘Green Future House’ will remain a show house throughout 2012. Green Future NI, the Armagh based firm, also supplies and consults on a range of innovative green technologies, has created this zero carbon prototype at a highly market competitive price, similar in cost to traditional building methods, something which Green Future is proud to have achieved. Evidently the ‘Green Future House’ which boosts negative C02 emissions is the first and only house in the province to be awarded 5 years no rates under the Governments now defunct Zero Carbon and Low Carbon Homes Scheme.
Reduce Home Energy Bills By 79 Per Cent in a Zero Carbon Home
Most importantly for the homeowner is the fact this zero carbon blue-print build of superior performing homes is capable of near-zero energy bills. Annual energy bills for this 5 bedroom 3089sq ft story and a half house equates to only £200 a year, that’s 79 per cent cheaper to run than ordinary houses. Building anything other than a zero carbon house would deem foolish as fuel bills for homeowners here in Northern Ireland continue to soar.
University Of Ulster Low Carbon Experts Study This Zero Carbon Prototype
With fuel poverty and energy crisis major issues for us all, sustainable energy is high on everyone’s agenda. The University Of Ulster Centre Of Sustainable Technologies is collaborating with Green Future, having been commissioned by Invest NI to measure the thermal performance of the
‘Green Future House’. Headed by low carbon professor Dominic McLarnon, results are due for public release later this month. Minister for Environment Alex Attwood who officially opened the ‘Green Future House’ said: “Improving the energy efficiency of housing provides an opportunity to develop new ideas in design and construction and I welcome
Official opening of Northern Ireland’s first ever zero carbon house, the ‘Green Future House’ (L-R) Sean Conlon Cavan-Monaghan T.D, Minister for Environment Alex Attwood MLA, Green Future Managing Director John McClatchey, Dominic McLarnon & Dr Trevor Hyde Low Carbon Professors at University of Ulster’s Centre for Sustainable Technology, Irish Minister for Environment Phil Hogan T.D.
the innovation which has been shown in building these Zero and Low Carbon homes of the future”.
Zero Carbon Homes - The Future for Social Housing Kirsty McQuoid managing director of Belfast based Public Relations & Public Affairs agency PR’s ME is lobbying to introduce what will become Northern Ireland’s & Ireland’s first ever Zero Carbon Social Housing development. Two of Ireland’s leading Housing Associations, Cluid and Respond! are currently working with Green Future NI architects with the vision to create Ireland’s first ever zero carbon social housing development. To visit the ‘Green Future House’ in Armagh, please email: office@zerocarbonhouse.eu To learn more about Green Future NI Ltd or the ‘Green Future House’, please visit: http://www.zerocarbonhouse. eu
SYNCNI magazine AUTUMN 2012
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‘On Course’ for Success at Northern Ireland Science Park
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he Northern Ireland Science Park has announced the completion of its £6m Concourse II development and has welcomed its newest tenants to the state-of-theart facilities. Already fully let, the new building is the second of three buildings known together as ‘The Concourse’ and has increased existing Science Park facilities by approximately 30% accommodating a further 500 new knowledge based jobs. The three building Concourse complex represents an investment of more than £20m and the latest phase has increased the employment capacity at the Park to over 2000. Home to thriving local start-ups and major global corporations, new tenants to Concourse II include Kana Software, a world leader in Service Experience Management (SEM); Fidessa, a leading supplier of software services to financial markets; Parity, an IT services provider listed on the London Stock Exchange; and Export Technologies, a local ecommerce software provider who has moved into the larger space from the Science Park’s Innovation Centre which is primarily a ‘staging post’ for rapidly growing knowledge ventures. The flexible leasing options at the Science Park encourages a healthy ‘churn’ of knowledge based companies at the Park allowing tenants to grow and increase office space while freeing up room in the Innovation Centre for smaller start-ups. The development of the Concourse II building has precipitated shuffles in the Park elsewhere with DisplayNote
Technologies Ltd, a software solutions provider for display based manufacturers, being welcomed to the Innovation Centre and dotRetailer. com, an eCommerce and internet applications provider, to Concourse I. Further proving demand is higher than ever for value-added space at the Science Park Novosco, an IT solutions provider, has also taken up residence in Concourse I and IBM has doubled its
greater good of the local economy. The surge of new tenants to the Park is testament to the demand for value-add facilities which include a combination of world-class fibre optic ICT connectivity, innovative and collaborative workspace and access to successful mentoring programmes. I would like to welcome all the new tenants to the Park and have no doubt they will all thrive in this collaborative
Pictured (L-R): Mark Bever, Fidessa; Mark Lilley, Export Technologies; Kate Docherty, Fidessa; Mervyn Watley; NISP Director; Fionnuala Johnston, Parity; and Stephen Bronte Kana. at the £6m Concourse II development which will accommodate up to 500 knowledge jobs at the Northern Ireland Science Park.
campus environment.” footprint at the Park having recently acquired Q1 Labs. Director of facilities and corporate real estate of the Northern Ireland Science Park, Mervyn Watley, said: ”The Science Park has become one of the top five science parks in the UK and Ireland and is well recognised internationally for its ability to successfully bring together industry, government and academia for the
”At the same time we are making progress on our plans to develop a northwest regional campus of the Science Park at the Fort George site in Derry~ Londonderry ,working in partnership with Letterkenny Institute of Technology (LYIT). While it remains subject to a number of important hurdles being overcome we are committed to extending our reach and impact across the province. ”
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SYNCNI magazine AUTUMN 2012
Event preview:
Dublin Web Summit
Upcoming Events
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Meet the Buyer Events 2012 BY InterTrade Ireland When Thursday, 27 Sep (08:30 - 15:00) WHERE Cookstown Glenavon Hotel
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Survival of the fittest: Embracing digital in the UEFA Champions League BY Charted Institute of Marketing When Wednesday, 04 Oct (12.00 – 13.30) WHERE Conference Room 1, Riddel Hall, Queens University
D
ublin Web Summit returns this year on October 17th and 18th, bringing together a dynamic and international group of 200 speakers and over 3,000 attendees. The Web Summit has doubled in size since last year, and based on the success of the European TechCrawl they held in June, the flagship event in October will be one of Europe’s biggest tech conferences to date. The Web Summit, which is taking place in Dublin’s RDS, will give attendees the opportunity to come face to face with tech leaders who are shaping the world of tomorrow and the chance to meet established entrepreneurs, investors and decision makers.
Previous speakers have included founders of companies such as Twitter, YouTube and Skype, and speakers at this year’s flagship event include Kevin Rose (Google Ventures), Mike McCue (Flipboard), Cindy Gallop (Make Love Not Porn), Joe Fernandex (Klout), Chris Poole (4chan) and many more. As well as hosting panel discussions and keynote speakers, the Web Summit is also holding the Spark of Genius start-up competition, START (an exclusive gathering for the top 150 start-ups in the world), and a number of after-parties and networking events which will run concurrently with the main event.
For more information visit http://www.websummit.net
3
Byte Night
BY Action for Children When Friday, 05 Oct (18:00 - 00:00) WHERE Belfast Activity Centre
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2012 Halo Funding Event BY NI Business Angel Network When Tuesday, 13 Nov (18:00 - 21:00) WHERE Northern Ireland Science Park
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