Sync NI Magazine - Spring 2015 by Sync NI

SPRING 2015

Issue 17 CITI GROUP 10 OSBORNE KING 13 KEEN NUTRITION 19

Danske

Banking with a Digital Edge

06 Exclusive Paddy Cosgrave Interview 08 Innocent Drinks Juicy Lowdown www.syncni.com

Representing Northern Irelandâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Tech & Business Community

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SYNCNI MAGAZINE SPRING 2015

Welcome to the Spring edition of the Sync NI magazine foreword

from Gerry Lennon, Chief Executive Visit Belfast

s I hope you will now be aware, and perhaps are already registered to attend, Belfast is looking forward to hosting two very significant international business events this June – MoneyConf and EnterConf. The two events combined, will become the largest conference to be hosted in the city to date. It is expected that around 5,000 of the brightest minds, innovators and entrepreneurs will meet over four days to discuss technological trends that will shape and influence the finance, business and enterprise sectors not only here but across the world. Conferences like these bring global leaders, not only generating welcome business for our hotels, conference venues, transport sectors and even hostelries but importantly, benefitting the wider regional economy through businessto-business networking and investment opportunities. Attracting these types of events is important for a great number of reasons. It is something Visit Belfast is passionate to continue to build upon as they represent a major opportunity for Belfast to showcase the City’s strengths and skill-sets across a variety of sectors, from IT to medicine, academia to engineering as well as the entrepreneurial spirit that has become so evident in recently years, particularly within the financial and technology sectors. Tourism over the last 15 years has become a major economic generator of which business tourism contributes highly. Visit Belfast aims to bring the right conference and meetings here that not only generate significant tourism revenue but can also benefit the city’s economy

CONTENT & EDITORIAL Nicola McNair Email: nicola.mcnair@syncni.com Phone: 028 90820944 ADVERTISING & MARKETING ENQUIRIES Caoimhe Caldwell Phone: 02890820942 Email: caoimhe.mckenna@syncni.com Natalie Gray Phone: 02890820944 Email: natalie@syncni.com

and deliver in the longer term – creating and sustaining jobs, enhancing our international profile and in improving the overall attractiveness of the city region as a place to visit, do business and even stay. Visit Belfast’s ambassador programme has been central to our success in increasing the number of national and international conferences and meetings in Belfast. Working with an extensive network of medical, academic and corporate professionals, world-class within their field, Visit Belfast’s ambassadors have helped us to attract events worth many millions of pounds to the local economy.

SUBSCRIPTIONS Email: subscribe@syncni.com DESIGN Canvas Website: canvas.ie Email: hello@canvas.ie GENERAL ENQUIRIES Sync NI 28 Adelaide street Rochester Building Belfast BT28GD Phone: 028 90820944 Email: info@syncni.com Website: www.syncni.com

Bringing a national or international conference here showcases our universities, hospitals, businesses and above all our people, as world class, entrepreneurial, innovative and exceptional. It also demonstrates Belfast’s importance in a particular sector, as well as forging links with colleagues across the world. For the conference sponsor or organiser, it enables them to gain professional recognition amongst their peers and boost personal development whilst supporting education and development in the future. Opening Spring 2016, the £29.5 million investment in expanding the Waterfront Hall will enable Belfast to step up and compete for larger international conferences that attract 1,000 plus delegates. The 4,000m² extension will double the size of the existing conference facilities whilst technology and design will enhance the already world-class customer experience yet further. There’s never been a better time to choose Belfast for an event, meeting or conference. Together with the invaluable work of our city’s ambassadors, we will continue to prove a formidable team in promoting Belfast as a leading destination for business and conference tourism.

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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SYNCNI MAGAZINE SPRING 2015

Contents

03 Foreword 06 Interview with Paddy Cosgrave 07 Choosing the right digital partner 08 Innocent Drinks - Juicy lowdown 10 10 years of technology Innovation 13 The Space Race 14 Danske - Banking with a digital edge 16 CityBcon - Mobile technology 18 Providing IT Solutions for Business 19 Introducing Keen Nutrition 20 Generation Innovation 21 Techstart NI 22 Aepona - IOT Technologies 23 Out of Orbit - Our journey 25 Upcoming Events 26 Sync NI - Logging Off

06 10

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SYNCNI MAGAZINE SPRING 2015

Web Summit Founder Paddy Cosgrave talks to Sync NI

t’s been called “the best technology conference on the planet”, attracting 20000 attendees, the Web Summit is huge! You can understand why the NI tech scene was pretty excited when the organisers revealed that they would be bringing two conferences to Belfast this June. Sync NI got the chance to catch up with Paddy Cosgrave when he visited Belfast for the Moneyconf and Enterconf launch.

q Why did you decide to go with

particular themes for the upcoming conferences in Belfast? At the Web Summit we now have separate summits and the biggest one last year was the enterprise summit, it experienced the most amount of growth in 2014, so it felt right to create a standalone enterprise conference. With Moneyconf, the sheer amount of banking and payment-based startups at the Web Summit are testament to the interest in financial technology. In the first year it’s not about how big the events are, it’s all about quality. We are determined to start the conferences with really awesome speakers and relevant themes.

q The Web Summit attracts an

international audience. Will it be the same for Moneyconf & Enterconf? They will be international. Even though we have switched the model to invite only, which will allow us to get all the right people, I think anybody from Northern Ireland who applies will be welcome. Even if it’s just that curious butcher who’s wondering whether he should accept Bitcoin in his business! In terms of people coming from further

afield we are just going to focus on getting the right people in the room.

q The NI startup scene is booming.

What advice would you give to entrepreneurs hoping to make the most of the conferences in Belfast? I have three pieces of advice. Hustle, hustle, hustle! I remember in 2012 a startup from the US came over to the Web Summit and for everyday they spent in Dublin they spent three days of preparing. They had a strict rule…no sleep until the flight home. They stopped at nothing to ensure they met the right people and had great conversations, they muscled like crazy! Don’t expect the best investor in the room to come and find you …you need to work for it.

q The location, T13, why did you

choose it? Our production manager, Sinead, has produced some of the biggest music festivals in UK and Ireland. She has a good sense for cool venues.

q What is it about Web Summit that

catches people’s attention? We are not boring! I had never organised a conference before Web Summit but I had been to loads of music festivals and the sense of fun at these was inspiration for the Web Summit. You have to keep it interesting, like the content on stage, you should not let people talk for any longer than 15 minutes. Also the Web Summit is not 9-5, it’s from 9am right around the clock. We encourage our attendees to be social, go for dinner and network! During the

early mornings of the Web Summit I look on my Twitter feed and see these great entrepreneurs posting kebab selfies at 6.30 in the morning and then they go to their stand at 9. I admire that kind of energy.

q Will Enterconf & Moneyconf be

returning to Belfast after 2015? Yes, if it goes well and the city works, of course! I think Belfast is one of the smallest, vibrant and most joined together places. It’s a young city and everybody is rooting for Belfast to succeed. We base all our decisions on attendee feedback so we are looking forward to hearing what people think of the events. Follow Paddy Cosgrave

 @PaddyCosgrave

SYNCNI MAGAZINE SPRING 2015

The Digital Path: Choosing the right travel partner

t’s plain to see that digital communications are becoming an even bigger part of every company’s marketing communications strategy. If you’re excited about the potential of digital marketing and planning on appointing an expert to deal with this area of your business, here are 5 things you should look for in any potential service provider:

q You don’t need to be a big agency to ‘do digital’

But it helps to work with an integrated comms consultancy with a team of experts who have experience outside of the online world and who understand the delicate interplay between traditional and digital media. Your tone of voice on digital will always be slightly different to the one you’ll be speaking with in other media (as in most cases, you’re talking directly to your customers), but it takes skill and an understanding of the wider marketing mix to balance the informality of the digital space with the same message you’re offering in the local newspaper.

q Your nephew is cool… but leave it to the professionals

It’s not uncommon to see businesses (small and large) hand over their entire social marketing strategy to the intern or the marketing director’s nephew, who seems qualified because he has a topknot and over 200 followers on Instagram. Your presence on social media is a hugely important part of your corporate identity and should not be taken lightly or put in the hands of someone without proper professional experience in the field. Even with the right support, stay engaged, stay involved - it’s your brand.

q The digital marketing toolbox is a craftsman’s kit not a

DIY playset Look for experts who have qualifications as well as demonstrable experience. Whilst an education should never be mistaken for good sense, it at least shows that the company in question has invested time and money into their services and will most likely have undergone training on strategy. One foul move in the back-end of your site can have a significant impact on your search rankings which can be the difference between success and failure for your company or brand – so it’s important you trust that your supplier knows what they are doing.

q What’s the point?

Chose an agency or supplier who understands your business objectives and the specific campaign outcomes you are hoping

Martin Byrne, Digital Communications Consultant, Morrow Communications

for. They need to be able to explain exactly why they are recommending you post a skateboarding cat video when that seems entirely unconnected to your pharmaceutical business. I love cats on skateboards and can probably defend their inclusion in any social media campaign but if your supplier tells you it’s just because “it’s cool,” it might be time to skate on by.

q Avoid the snake oil

If anyone guarantees you the number one spot on a search engine or quantifies the exact number of followers they’ll add to your social platforms this week, feel free to walk away. SEO is an ongoing process and social media communities take time to build successfully. Don’t trust anyone who guarantees you amazing results without going into the detail of how this will be achieved. There are many practitioners of the “digital dark arts” and whilst you might quickly build a huge Facebook following or zip up the rankings in the short term, social platforms and search engines are continually finding ways of weeding out fake followers or punishing sites which have followed unscrupulous link-building techniques. Like any field of marketing there are few shortcuts, just a number of experienced people who know their way and are happy to share their map. Pick a trusted travel partner and good luck with your journey. Follow Morrow Communications

 @MorrowComms

SYNCNI MAGAZINE SPRING 2015

Innocent Drinks The Juicy Lowdown from Fruit Towers

At Sync NI we have always appreciated the inventive and fun style associated with Innocent Drinks so were delighted to chat to Damian Hughes, Marketing Manager and ‘Smoothie Operator’ about the well-loved brand. q How would you describe the

innocent brand? I would say it is natural, relevant, intelligent and slightly irreverent with a strong social conscience. I remember when I first came across the brand 15 years ago I was instantly struck by the personal touches on its packaging and the invitation to call “Fruit Towers” for a chat. I think key to the brand’s success is not only its yummy, natural products and

It is important to note we have a serious side too. We are committed to taking responsibility for our impact on society and the environment. We do this by sourcing our delicious ingredients from suppliers who look after both their workers and the environment, using as much recycled or renewable material as possible in our packaging and donating 10% of our profits to charity.

Languages in Dublin City University which combined both of these passions, so in my 17 year old head it was the way to go. After finishing my primary degree I did a postgrad in Marketing Practice in the Michael Smurfit Graduate School of Business, UCD. After graduating I was offered a place on the Unilever Graduate Programme, where my first role was looking after take-home ice cream. Since then I have been fortunate enough to work with amazing brands like Cadbury, Danone and LandRover. I joined innocent as Marketing Manager early this year, and I have loved every minute of my role so far.

q Describe a “day in the life” at

instantly recognizable brand properties, but also the way it understands its drinkers and connects with them in meaningful and engaging ways. The innocent brand purpose is very simple to get fruit and veg into people, so that we can all can live well and die old!

q How did you get started in

Marketing? I was always fascinated by brands and the consumer buyer decision process, but I also loved languages and foreign cultures. I came across a degree course in International Marketing and

innocent HQ? Fruit Towers is a fantastic place to work! Where else would you find a carpet made out of fake grass with daisies growing out of it, and access to delicious juice and smoothies? I enjoy working alongside dedicated and enthusiastic people who live the values of being natural, entrepreneurial, responsible, commercial and generous. I know this is going to sound very clichéd, but really no two days are the same here. For example yesterday I was

SYNCNI MAGAZINE SPRING 2015

at the launch of innocent’s joint initiative with Grow It Yourself (GIY) called Sow and Grow. The purpose of Sow and Grow is to get children growing veggies and educating them about the importance of having 5 portions of fruit and veg per day – unfortunately 1 in 4 Irish kids don’t reach this quota.

SYNCNI MAGAZINE SPRING 2015

proud supporters of Penguin Awareness Day because a nice guy called Paul told us that the day existed. Thanks Paul!

q How have Innocent captured the

digital trends? We have a group of really bright and beautiful people working on our digital

However today, I am working on innocent Unplugged; an event that will take place in a secret woodland location outside London on the 23rd and 24th of May. The weekend is all about disconnecting from the world of technology and enjoying great music, listening to awesome guest speakers, feasting on a banquet fit for a king and a host of other fun and ‘definitely not plugged in’ activities. I had intended to do some invoicing today, but I team who are all over what’s happening think I’ll leave that now until Monday… in the wonderful world of digital. If they don’t know about a trend, then it’s either q Innocent have a ‘tongue and cheek’ / not worth knowing about or it’s ‘so creative presence, how is this achieved? yesterday’ that they have forgotten all about it. Central to innocent’s distinctive creative presence is the brand’s tone On Facebook and Twitter, we’ve built of voice. At innocent we make natural up a hub of funny, creative, interesting products for people just like us. The followers who are always giving us fresh innocent tone came from friends talking content ideas and helping us keep on top to friends (the 3 founders), so speaking of what the next big thing will be. and writing naturally are at the heart of everything we do. Relevance resonates. q What challenges do Innocent face? The best copy and creative pieces are Our vision is to be the earth’s favourite based on original insights relating to our little healthy drink company. It is a big drinkers and our products. We appreciate task, but we think it’s important to have that our drinkers not only look great, something to strive towards. We need but have a healthy dose of grey matter to always keep our drinkers at the heart between their ears too, so we try to of what we do and ensure that our brand always keep our copy erudite, stimulating offerings, events and communications and interesting. We don’t dumb things material continue to delight them. down. There is no doubt that there is some We also get some great ideas by strong competition out there that we engaging in conversations with our have to face, but never underestimate wonderful drinkers, which we then use as the power of a group of people who public facing content. For instance we’re believe in what they’re doing, some

grassy vans, loads of delicious fruit and veg and the occasional corny joke.

q What does the future hold?

The future is just peachy for innocent. The company is in a very exciting phase of its journey. We are expanding into new territories and launching new and exciting products, such as Coconut Water, which is hitting stores around now.

q If you were a smoothie, what flavour would you be and why? Sometimes I think I am half smoothie already thanks to the amount I drink – it’s not my fault my desk is close to the office’s grassy fridge.

If you insist that I come up with a less evasive answer, then I would say I would be one of our delicious new range of Super Smoothies, because of my super strength and amazing speed….did I mention I could be corny? Follow Innocent Drinks

 @innocentIreland

SYNCNI MAGAZINE SPRING 2015

YEARS

IN BELFAST

10 years of Delivering Technology Innovation in Belfast technology as well as the business. This team was one of the first groups to be established in Belfast as a near shore solution of the high cost hubs in London and New York. Over the last 10 years I have had the opportunity to take on more responsibility across the teams and site, developing business lines into Belfast and progressing into more challenging roles as the company has grown.

Marie Fyfe Can you tell us about yourself and your current role in Citi? I am currently Chief of Staff for Product Services Department within Citiâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Institutional Client Group (ICG). This group provides technology solutions for the Investment banking section of the organisation. I am responsible for the management of 2000 staff and vendor employees globally. I started 10 years ago as a Technical Support Analyst within a small team, working solely within the Risk Treasury and Foreign exchange business lines. I provided all aspects technical and application support for the Front Office traders through direct interaction with traders and business groups. We were responsible for a large suite of applications, allowing me to learn about

Can you tell us about your background before you joined Citi? I qualified with a degree in Computer Science at Queenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s University. My first full time position was with a company where I had also completed my placement year. The opportunity to join Citi appealed to me as it was a new company to Belfast. It wasnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t the specific job that appealed to me but more the opportunity to do something different with a company that would provide a long term career path for me. What are most rewarding and challenging aspects of your job? Citi is a truly global organization and I do feel part of a global team. Belfast is an extension of the wider organization with client interactions from all over the world which keeps it interesting. Investment Banking is a really interesting business. We work with traders who manage million dollar risk portfolios and need the best technology to stay competitive. Some of the greatest benefits are the variance

of roles within technology, working with progressive technical strategies across multiple lines of business and technologies. How has Citi changed in the last 10 years? Citi in Belfast has developed and matured as a site. There has been much investment to ensure we are recognized as part of a global group. Our track record of success in Technology over the last 10 years has made it an attractive and viable solution to other business lines/functions allowing Citi in Belfast to continue to grow. As well as this, our success in Belfast has allowed us to develop and replicate our service into other global locations including Toronto, New York, Singapore. The expertise and knowledge developed here has been a huge benefit globally and has given opportunities to a number of employees to take mobility opportunities in other parts of the company globally. What would you say to someone who is considering a career with Citi? I joined Citi for an opportunity as opposed to the specific role. There are many opportunities, progression, responsibilities, and variety of technologies. Speak to any Citi employee, ask questions to understand what the organization offers. It is often difficult to understand the variety of what we do, as I also had little idea before I joined.

Citi Timeline May 2005

Sep 2009

2007 Announcement of 40 Jobs in Legal and Compliance

375 Technology Jobs announced

Gateway Building in Titanic Quarter opens

Technology expansion to 560 jobs

Operations expansion to 400 jobs

Headcount 1000

July 2006

2008

2010

SYNCNI MAGAZINE SPRING 2015

Equities Electronic Execution Over the past 2 decades Electronic Execution (EE) was transformed from being a feather in an Investment bank’s offering, to being the foundation of all trading. Todays’ business simply could not manage the complexity or volume of trading without the innovations in the EE Platform. This technology has enabled the business to evolve client offering, allowing more trading options and flexible trading styles across asset classes. The end result is a best in breed technology-driven platform that is at the forefront of trading. As the market has changed, having the fastest platform is no longer the benchmark; clients demand real insight into market activities and clarity on how the smart trading algorithms have executed their orders. Therefore EE has been challenged to evolve its product offering, continually pushing the limitations of hardware and software at all levels. The Electronic Execution team in Belfast was first formed in 2006 and has been steadily growing in numbers, knowledge and ownership. The site strives to be an innovation centre; containing global application owners and technology innovators. The EE team has driven the platform forward, pushing and stretching the latest languages, technology and tooling boundaries.

upStart – Innovation in Action Now in its fourth successful year, Citi upStart is an entrepreneurship programme delivered in partnership with Queen’s University Belfast and Trinity College Dublin. Teams of students studying for Masters degrees at the universities create their own startup businesses for a new technology product or service. Each business plan had to provide a real market prospect and teams competed with each other to win prizes from Cisco, Microsoft and Citi to help them advance their technology product or service. The programme culminates in a Dragons Den event where competing teams pitch their business ventures to a panel of judges from the global technology community which in the past has included Microsoft, Cisco, Red Hat, Reed Elsevier Ventures and Citi.

In 2014, Citi announced that it was investing £54million creating 600 new highly skilled jobs. Announcing the new jobs, First Minister Peter Robinson said: “This £54million announcement creating 600 new jobs by Citi, reflects the firm’s confidence in its Belfast operations and its continuing commitment to Northern Ireland.“ The deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness said: “Citi ramping up its presence here is outstanding news. This significant expansion will inject over £21million of new salaries to the local economy annually. “

2013

Nov 2014

HR Function migrates to Belfast and expansion of Compliance

Expansion announcement of 600 more roles

Headcount 1400 with Global Functions expansion planned Feb 2014

Dr Stephen Farry, Minister for Employment and Learning attended the awards ceremony in 2014 and met the students. Speaking at the event, the Minister said “ICT is the driving force of a globally competitive economy, underpinning innovation, competitiveness and long term prosperity, and has a key role to play in taking forward our economic growth. I see events such as today’s as key building blocks in delivering a higher value added economy for Northern Ireland.” 2014 Winners Occursio, Queen’s University – Innovative Video Messaging Service

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SYNCNI MAGAZINE SPRING 2015

The Space Race

nyone who has been searching for office space in Belfast recently may have been surprised by the lack of high quality space available in the city centre and Greater Belfast area. In the last 12 months there has been a significant upturn in occupier requirements for “Grade A” space which has been driven by a combination of arriving US and UK based firms absorbing space and local companies seeking to expand after a period of consolidation.

At present city centre headline rents are in the region of £15.00 per sq ft (albeit INI quotes £12.50 per sq ft) and we expect this to increase over the course of 2015. In simple terms, the demand for “Grade A” space is outweighing the existing supply and there is only one new build office development underway at present – ‘City Quays’ at Belfast Harbour. In an ideal world private landlords would have started other ‘new build’ schemes around the city, but there’s a problem ....

assignment or sub-letting opportunities, not all of these will be advertised on the open market.

There are a number of advantages to appointing an agent to carry out your office search on your behalf:

q Ensuring that you are looking at space which matches your requirements and that you are aware of all ‘on market’ and ‘off market’ opportunities.

q Advising you on overall occupancy costs including Rent, Based on the best current headline rental levels of c. £15.00 per sq ft it is not economically viable for developers to construct new premises. Office rents will need to be in the region of £18.00 - £20.00 per sq ft before cranes appear on the Belfast skyline once again.

Rates and Service Charges.

q Negotiating lease terms on your behalf to ensure you have the flexibility you need within your cost budget.

q Knowledge of upcoming/newly refurbished office stock In recent years Northern Ireland has become a viable office location for global firms. Our package of low occupancy costs, comparatively low wage costs and good quality of life has been key in attracting new occupiers and will continue to do so going forward, if a cut in corporation tax is delivered it should enhance an already attractive offering. INI have been successful in attracting job opportunities but the lack of Grade A space will delay these coming on stream, INI need to understand the commercial realities required to deliver new build projects. To meet the increasing demand a number of private landlords are in the process of refurbishing existing office stock. This will create some excellent opportunities in the short term for those looking to expand. It’s vital that tenants are correctly advised when seeking to acquire new accommodation. Given the lack of available high quality space, opportunities may arise in the form of lease

and new build developments that may be in the pipeline. The arrival of new tech sector companies to Northern Ireland along with the growth of those already based here is an exciting prospect and will further enhance the office sector within Northern Ireland, albeit occupiers in this sector need to appreciate that landlords are not used to companies who can grow extremely quickly and often require expansion space following the first 12 months of occupation. Appointing a professional advisor to search for premises and negotiate your occupancy terms will help to deliver the flexibility required and ensure that your property requirements don’t become a problem. Email Richard

 richard.mccaig@osborneking.com

SYNCNI MAGAZINE SPRING 2015

Banking with a Digital Edge Two billion is the number of people around the

world using smartphones that have an internet connection and a touchscreen, according to recent estimates. Smartphones are getting cheaper at the lower end of the market and at the top end they can carry out an increasing list of ever more complex tasks. Always having a computer with them removes constraints on what people do, when they do it and where. As more of our lives move online, it makes sense that banking too is becoming more innovative, interactive and mobile. Sync NI asked Kris Thompson, Digital Channels Manager at Danske Bank, how the bank has embraced the digital world.

q People are increasingly living their lives through their

smartphones, is that the case in banking too? Very much so. We ended 2014 with more than 2.5 million online banking logons for the month, a record high – and 80 per cent of those logons were through smartphones. We are no longer becoming a mobile generation, we are the mobile generation and it’s not just young people – we know of a 100-year-old customer who regularly uses our online banking service. We’re also aware that not everyone with a bank account is a digital native, so we’ve invested in training a Digital Specialist for every branch to help take people through the various services the bank has available online and on mobile devices. This complements our innovative Step by Step programme, which we designed in partnership with Age NI to help educate our older customers on all the many ways of doing their day to day banking.

q Many banks are now focusing on digital – what makes

Danske different? Danske Bank has been leading the way on technological innovations on how we meet and interact with our customers for several years. Last year, we were the first bank in Northern Ireland to launch Paym, the UK industry-wide mobile payments project, which allows real time person-to-person

payments by mobile phone, using only a phone number. We were able to introduce our own elements of functionality and our user experience is considered ‘leading edge’ by the UK Payments Council. Since its launch a year ago, over 20,000 of our customers have registered for the service and over £6 million has been sent by our customers this way. We were also the first bank in the whole of the UK to offer Online Meetings last year. The service provides customers with the option to attend a meeting with one of our advisors from anywhere that suits them via their PC/laptop. The advisor talks to the customer over the phone whilst sharing

SYNCNI MAGAZINE SPRING 2015

Two billion is a big number

making processes around new digital developments as opposed to introducing gimmicks.

q How are Danske Bank leading the

way with technological innovation? Innovations that have worked for us are focused on customer service. One of our most recent innovations for example is Spending Overview, a dashboard that provides a visual view of what you spend your money on and what income comes into your account. Customers find it really useful for keeping a very close eye on their spending which in turn helps them to manage the family budget. Contactless payments for purchases is another example of helping to improve our customers’ experience. Spending on contactless cards has more than trebled in the last year to reach a record £2.32 billion in the UK, proving contactless has stepped firmly into the mainstream. For retailers, contactless means quicker queues at the till and convenience for customers so we see the benefits in that technology. Danske Bank is the largest issuer of contactless cards in NI with over 265,000 contactless cards in operation so the use of this technology in NI is set to rise further, especially if the industry increases the spending limit as planned from £20 to £30 in September of this year.

Kris Thompson, Digital Channels Manager at Danske Bank  kt@danskebank.co.uk

visual illustrations and calculators online through our secure online banking platform. OFCOM has found that mobile and tablet ownership in Northern Ireland is among the highest in the UK, so we’ve already made our apps available for customers with iOS and Android mobile and tablet devices, and we’ll be first off the mark in NI with a new app for Windows phones in the very near

future.

q Lots of digital products don’t really

take off, so how does Danske Bank decide what will work? I suppose we are more focused on the need for technology to make our customers’ lives easier rather than the technology itself. We listen to what our customers tell us they want and we analyse how they use technology. That guides our innovation and decision

q Tech companies are now moving into the financial space, is there a risk that banks’ digital products could become irrelevant? We’re keeping an eye on new technologies like Apple Pay. But that is still in the early stages and hasn’t been tested to the same degree as cards. We will continue to embrace the technology, but we also need to make sure the technology enhances rather than erodes a customer’s relationship with us.

Follow Danske Bank

 @DanskeBank_UK

SYNCNI MAGAZINE SPRING 2015

CityBcon - Mobile Technology Designed to Revolutionise the High Street Sync NI caught up with John Fleming to discuss his experience of the inaugural Irish Accenture FinTech Programme. This intense 12 week programme culminated in Fleming pitching his mobile app CityBcon to investors in both Dublin and London last month. CityBcon is a mobile app that provides small and medium retailers with a new mobile sales channel. The app allows retailers to reach their customers with targeted promotions and offers and to transact on smartphones (iOS and Android). Most small retailers won’t have a native presence on smartphones. With CityBcon, they will. The problem we solve? We focus our attention on the SME high street retailer who currently faces many challenges, in particular massive and growing competition from online stores. Online sales are growing at a rate of 16% per annum in comparison to high street sales growth of 3%. We realised that the majority of SME retailers did not plan to release mobile apps due to cost, complexity of development and volume download challenges. Irish Consumers are avid smartphone users with the Irish regulator ‘Comreg’ reporting that mobile data usage has grown by 75% among smartphone users over the last 12 months. Customers are increasingly using their mobile device to spend money with mobile commerce increasing at three times the rate of online spend. And with online spend here in the Irish Republic alone at €6Bn we can see the importance of this trend towards mobile and the magnitude of the mobile commerce market.

CityBcon ensures that the SME Retailer does not remain invisible to its consumers by giving retail partners a presence on our mobile platform.

How CityBcon Works? Our technology is built around five pillars: content, beacon detection, analytics, messaging, and payment. The content is curated in-house and is of the highest quality, including high quality photography, as this greatly defines the user experience. Beacon detection is core to our value proposition to both retailers and users, providing spontaneous context driven content. We’re working with LocalSocial and Aplix in this area. The beacons do more than provide context however. They are the backbone of our analytics system which is being developed on IBM Watson Analytics. The beacon locations are tied to brands in our content management system, which helps us develop user profiles. We further develop user insight through social media integration. Layered on top of this is the messaging system, which only communicates with users about brands (and businesses) they love. We’re using another IBM product in this area, and finally payment, which is likely to

C SYNCNI MAGAZINE SPRING 2015

Karin O’Brien and John Fleming from CityBcon

be via FEXCO’s mobile payments solution. All of this technology is largely hidden from the retailer and user. The retailer can work with us via email, we do the rest. They can be live on CityBcon gaining mobile app presence in a few hours. For the user, they just get a great experience which they can control. A key innovation for us is building a list of loyal customers for our merchant partners. Once a user has been in store for a few minutes we note this via the beacon and add this to the store’s CityBcon fan list, building a marketing list for subsequent targeted communication. These footfall additions are then combined with the user’s social media brand and store likes, creating a 360 view of the user shopping habits. My Journey Building a commercially viable product is challenging but the Product Management Programme at the Dublin Institute of Technology trained me to better understand the complexities involved in building products which customers love.

Today, CityBcon has over 20 beacon sites live across Dublin including retail outlets, restaurants and hotels. Aer Lingus has also come on board as part of our partner programme. We have just completed the Accenture Fintech Accelerator and IBM Global Entrepreneur Programme is helping us to build the product. This has not been a straight road. We have had to demonstrate value to retailers and so introduced beacon technology into our product. We have funded this product ourselves with some help from Enterprise Ireland. Starting up is a series of failures, culminating, hopefully, in success. What’s the ultimate goal? We really want to make a difference on the high street, giving powerful native mobile solutions to retailers of all sizes while building a shopping experience that users love. And to do this around the world, via partners. That’s not too much to ask, is it?! Follow CityBcon

 @CityBcon

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SYNCNI MAGAZINE SPRING 2015

Acorn IT Solutions: Providing IT Solutions for Business Who are we? Established in April 2002, Acorn IT Solutions is recognised as one of the largest fully accredited Sage Business Partners. Based in Northern Ireland, we deploy Sage Accounting software and CRM solutions to 300 businesses throughout the UK and Ireland. In addition to these core products, we also offer to our customers bespoke development and training and support on the full range of Sage products. Our wealth of knowledge and experience across the Sage range empowers us to provide high standards of service and communication to each of our clients.

Introducing Sage 200 v2015

One product we are particularly excited about this year is the launch of Sage 200 v2015. The latest release will offer customers, both new and existing, a wide If you need the freedom to run your business your way, this solution will range of advanced features including provide you with that desired flexibility Improved Usability, Modernisation and to access your information â&#x20AC;&#x201C; whenever, User Flexibility. wherever. As a business-wide software solution, Sage 200 is a full Enterprise Resource Sage 200 Software is an ideal fit for Planning (ERP) solution designed to help growing businesses. Customers can SMEs achieve full visibility of information manage their finances, clients and across their entire business. business insights in one easy solution and the product design enables a An extensive range of module and smoother data-sharing process, feature choices enables the user to benefiting all business streams.

customise the solution to their preferred criteria. As a Sage Accredited Business Partner, we are here to support you with any tailoring that needs carried out to your solution, ensuring it meets the needs of your business.

Email Acorn IT Solutions

ď&#x192; info@acornitsolutions.com

C SYNCNI MAGAZINE SPRING 2015

Introducing Keen Nutrition

orthern Irish company Keen Nutrition have been making waves in the food & drink industry with their healthy nut butters. We spoke to founder, Aimee Beimers and asked her about the thriving business. My business journey Whilst working as a Nutrition Consultant, I identified a gap in the market for foods that make it easier for people to make healthy choices in their diet – foods that are familiar to ones they’re currently eating. The sector that stood out was the peanut butter and chocolate spread industry – primarily mass-produced products full of sugar, oil and salt. At the same time, I was aware of a trend emerging in the spread industry in recent years – the rise in consumption of all types of nut spreads. This made nut butter and chocolate spreads the perfect entry point for Keen Nutrition. After validating the range of products at local markets throughout Northern Ireland, Keen Nut Butter was launched into its first independent retail location in June 2013. Keen Nutrition now sells its range of

Keen Nut Butter in 264 retail locations throughout the UK and Ireland. My highpoints A recent highpoint was being awarded the Runner-up award for People’s Choice in the Northern Ireland Food and Drink Awards. Keen Nutrition didn’t even exist when the last awards were held in 2013 yet has managed to capture the hearts of Northern Ireland foodies and win the position against national food brands including Tayto, Hovis, Moy Park and Mash Direct, losing only to Punjana tea. Keen Nutrition doesn’t have the national reach of the large commercial brands, so we relied on the passion of our foodie fans and the local retailers that stock our products to support them online – this resulted in generating a social media reach of over 400,000 people. No small feat for a tiny team of artisan food producers. My challenges I think my challenges are similar to a lot of other small food producers - supply chain management, debt collection and the needs that arise with a team of 12. These are the daily challenges that need to be balanced

Aimee Beimers, founder Keen Nutrition

with the challenges of growing an artisan brand and being strategic about where we go next. Where we got our name The name Keen comes from a time when my husband and I circumnavigated Australia on a tandem recumbent tricycle. Throughout the entire 465 days of the journey, people kept saying “You’re keen…” but at the same time gave excuses as to why they could never do something so risky. For me, the name Keen means having no excuses and as a food producer Keen Nutrition makes products that don’t require any excuses to get healthier. The future Keen Nutrition will continue to grow sales of our nut butter, but we are also investing in NPD to determine which will be the next food to receive the ‘Keen touch’ and get a lot healthier! Follow Keen Nutrition

 @KeenNutrition

Contact Details Wellington Professional Recruitment Rochester Building 28 Adelaide Street Belfast BT2 8GD +44(0) 28 90 312009 @WellingtonIT_NI

For Northern Irelandâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s top Tech jobs

Visit: www.wpr.jobs

SYNCNI MAGAZINE SPRING 2015

US star will.i.am inspires local teenagers at Generation Innovation Night

he US producer, entrepreneur and tech innovator, will.i.am, has encouraged teenagers here to “get excited” about a career in the entrepreneurial knowledge economy. More than 200 young people received a special, personal message from The Voice star, as they gathered for the Generation Innovation ‘Night of Ambition’. Teenagers from 80 schools and colleges came together at St George’s Market for the annual event, organised by the NISP CONNECT team at the Northern Ireland Science Park. This action packed evening aims to inspire 16-17 year olds to consider a career in the tech and creative industries by getting them “up close and personal” with some of Northern Ireland’s most influential entrepreneurs and innovators. This year, company founders taking part included Chris Johnston from Adoreboard; Mary McCall of TreatTicket; and Ian Scott, from video-content tagging company Taggled. This was no ordinary networking event – the teenagers were teamed up in small groups with these hugely successful mentors in an “Ideas Factory” to come up with innovative products, which they then pitched to the room in just one sentence. Ambition was the theme of the night. Having heard from 17-year-old finalist

of the Science Park’s INVENT 2014, Gareth Reid (creator of an app to help people with dyslexia), and having a live link-up with ex-pat Hannah Hunt, a 27-year-old from Co Down who now works in Google’s San Francisco HQ, the celebrity highlight of the night was a video message from will.i.am, a rapper with a passion for science and technology. In his message, he said, “I can’t wait to use the things that you guys create. I can’t wait to be knocked off my feet by the things that you guys bring to the world.” Generation Innovation Programme Manager, Claire Burgoyne said the night was a huge success. “There was an incredible buzz of energy and enthusiasm. When you’re a teenager, it can be very hard to see a path to a future career; it can be really difficult for a young person to imagine themselves ever being the next Mark Zuckerberg or Bill Gates. “Generation Innovation aims to show young people in Northern Ireland that there are success stories right here on their own doorstep; local innovators who have been there, done that – and who are making it, big time! “This is a unique opportunity to meet

these guys, interact with them and pick their brains for advice. We want these students to go away thinking, ‘I want to be like them – if they can do it, so can I.’ The Generation Innovation event was hosted by BBC Radio 1 DJ Phil Taggart and was supported by the Creative Industries Innovation Fund, Allstate NI, Asidua, Coca Cola, Liberty IT, SAP, Total Mobile, Anaeko, Core Systems, Dow, Queen’s University and Ulster University. Bro McFerran, Vice President and Managing Director of first time sponsors, Allstate Northern Ireland said, “Allstate NI are delighted to be sponsors of NISP’s Generation Innovation Night of Ambition. As Northern Ireland’s largest IT company, we have witnessed first-hand the rapid expansion of the IT industry in Northern Ireland and the need for local people to possess the relevant IT skills in order to fill the ever increasing amount of jobs being advertised. “We therefore realise how important it is to invest heavily in the younger generation of Northern Ireland to be able to future-proof our economy and close the IT skills gap that we are currently experiencing.” Follow Generation Innovation

 @GenInnovators

SYNCNI MAGAZINE SPRING 2015

Investing in NI’s New Generation of Tech Innovators Sync NI caught up with Hal Wilson, Jamie Andrews and Kathleen Garrett of the techstart NI team to hear how things were going now that the operation has been up and running for nine months. As a refresher, who are Pentech Ventures and what is techstart NI? Pentech Ventures is an Edinburgh headquartered venture capital fund manager focused on early stage technology opportunities. Pentech’s Belfast office manages the techstart NI initiative (part of Invest Northern Ireland’s Access to Finance Strategy) that comprises Equity Seed Capital for NI technology companies, Proof of Concept Grants and Investor Awareness Training Programs. Our team’s mission is to help accelerate the growth of quality early-stage technology companies in NI. The Pentech team has significant first-hand experience of growing successful companies in the technology sector. We are really excited about what we can do to help the NI market. So how has techstart NI been going? We have been working hard with all our partners and supporters integrating techstart into the local ecosystem. Now that we are fully operational, we would like to share a few of the highlights -The build out of the techstart team has been completed with the appointment of Jamie Andrews. Jamie has held senior operational roles in two international technology companies, Lagan Technologies and Rainstor, helping them grow with help of venture capital, expand internationally and exit. Jamie has recently returned to NI after a 4 year stint in San Francisco as COO of Rainstor that culminated in an M&A exit in December 2014. In terms of equity deals done, we have now completed six investments:

Brewbot Ltd, Inflyte Ltd, Beacon Publishing Ltd, Laser Spoke Ltd, Titan IC Systems Ltd and Mindflood Ltd (Patchblocks) We are super-excited to be working with these companies.

Our Proof of Concept activities have left us in no doubt that the innovative ambition of NI is stronger than ever, and

the variety and quality of the innovations continually coming forward is pretty astounding. As a competitive programme, we cannot fund every project we see, but we have awarded 37 Concept Grants and 36 Pathfinder Grants since last August. Through our workshops we are trying to bring a new dimension to the market for up-skilling and experience sharing. We held a well-attended “Accelerators” workshop with Jon Bradford from TechStars and a “Kickstarter master class” - both events got really great feedback. We also organised a ‘Growth Hack’ event, bringing successful entrepreneurs from within and outside NI together in front of 140 folk to share their experiences of how they were able to deliver significant growth in users, customers and revenues. We will be looking at putting on some other high profile events through the year. Techstart NI also moved premises to 21 Talbot Street, Cathedral Quarter, Belfast. We will be holding some Open Offices at our new HQ throughout the year, as well as at our ‘hot desks’ in the Science Parks in Belfast and Derry. How do you see the NI market and the opportunities for ambitious technology entrepreneurs? We are excited with the quality and number of ambitious entrepreneurs that are approaching us. We believe that our diet of opportunity is strong and that we’ll be making further meaningful progress in all aspects of techstart over the coming months. We do believe firmly that business is a team sport and we will be working hard to help encourage the formation of teams around solo entrepreneurs so that their ambitions have a greater chance of being realised. Email techstart NI

 info@techstartni.com

SYNCNI MAGAZINE SPRING 2015

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SYNCNI MAGAZINE SPRING 2015

How IOT technologies can have a positive Impact on city life A

t Mobile World Congress Aepona demonstrated that the value of IOT is not just in the “things” but in the insights and business models that the services and applications created on top can unlock.

Aepona showcased a Smart Cities application, which shows how data sources and devices can be combined to create value added services enabled by the Aepona platform, in this case dynamic congestion charging. The world is becoming increasingly urbanized with an estimated 60% of the population living in cities by year 2030. There are many variables affecting the quality of life for the urban population, and how efficiently enterprises and organizations can operate with. Managing these variables is of fundamental importance to how the cities are operated and governed. Technology based services are playing an increasing role in making citizens’ lives better. To take a specific example – traffic congestion is one of the major problems facing our cities today. The pollution resulting from it causes poor air quality and increased noise levels. There is a greater risk to pedestrians and other road users – not only from the sheer volume of traffic, but from frustrated and stressed drivers. And, of course, the impact of congestion on the economy is enormous.

user’s perception being that the controls are not applied fairly, and don’t allow the driver be in control of the charges that they may incur. By utilizing data from widely deployed air quality sensors cities have the option of linking the congestion charge with the current air quality, allowing for rapid correction of high levels by affecting the behavior of drivers. The dynamic congestion charging application, enabled by Aepona, shows how air quality sensors can be linked to control the congestion charge in two zones within the city, and to offer incentives to commuters by discounting the cost of using the park and ride facilities.

The congestion charging application hows how easy it is to: q Create new services and APIs on the Aepona platform q Deploy those new services to both the cloud and gateway q Build cross-platform applications on Cities have attempted to solve the top of those services problem in a number of ways but many q Leverage Service Provider (Telco) of these schemes are unpopular, the road assets in IoT

q Combine all the data and sources to create meaningful services q Integrate with other Intel products such as Retail Channel Manager, Wind River q Integrate with 3rd party providers. The application shows how Intel hardware and software can be combined to provide a complete IoT story from the device through the data center, and up to the end user via applications. It demonstrates how enterprises can go beyond simply collecting and analyzing data from sensors, how they can leverage IA hardware and software to unlock the value of IoT through services that add new and interesting capabilities and providing revenue sharing opportunities between all the parties involved. Aepona’s software provides the building blocks that allow Intel’s customers and partners to fully realize their investment in IoT.

Visit online Aepona

 aepona.intel.com

C SYNCNI MAGAZINE SPRING 2015

Out of Orbit… Our Journey

n 2011 after the successful delivery of Yuki, an ambitious Irish/Japanese short film funded by Northern Ireland Screen, Brian J Falconer and Jonathan Beer formed Belfast based production company Out of Orbit. 2012 was all about the festival circuit. Short films are not intended for theatrical release so they spend their life travelling around the world showing at film festivals. Yuki screened at Cannes Short Film Corner, was official selection for the Galway Film Fleadh, LA Irish Film Festival and Sau Paulo Cinefantasy to name a few. Our second short film Land is God was filmed in Falconer’s home county of Fermanagh. Crew on The Death of a Projectionist

Beer, originally from Derby says of the film; “It was our intention to make something very personal, the notion of land being passed down through generations resonated with Brian and the backdrop of the Fermanagh Lakelands helps make this a very Irish tale.” Both Yuki and Land is God have a unique aesthetic that is rooted deep in the fabric of the story, something Out of Orbit believe is paramount to a film’s success. Falconer ramped up his workload in 2014 and with the support of the BFI and Northern Ireland Screen, produced the short film Boogaloo and Graham. Written by Ronan Blaney and directed by Michael Lennox, the film tells the story of two boys who learn the facts of life through their pet chickens. Falconer says; “At the time Out of Orbit were still operating from a box room in my house, none of us had any idea how successful it was going to be.” The film scooped a BAFTA and an Oscar nomination in 2015 and continues to pick up trophies at film

festivals across the planet. Now with local producer Christopher Myers part of the company the team have been able to keep up with their intense workload. They are currently in post-production on BFI and Northern Ireland Screen funded short film, The Death of a Projectionist. Directed by Beer, the film stars Ian McElhinney (Game of Thrones, The Fall) and tells the story of an ageing projectionist as he struggles to come to terms with the introduction of a new digital projector. Filmed in both digital and 35mm this is their most technical project yet! Falconer says; “Integral to our development as filmmakers is our relationship with our loyal funders and collaborators.” His ethos is echoed when you look at the credits of any of their films; the same names crop up again and again. Beer adds, “At this stage in our careers we are always looking for fresh faces and new ideas, but we are equally committed to bringing the talent and enthusiasm we have amassed along

with us.” On the horizon is feature film The Silence written by Aaron Gray and Paul Skillen. Developed through Northern Ireland Screen’s ‘Shorts to Feature’ scheme, this twisted sci-fi thriller tells the story of a team of scientists living at the outer reaches of our galaxy on the cusp of a historic discovery. “The writers are buzzing, we are buzzing; the project is really gathering momentum” Beer says. It has been a busy 12 months and things don’t look like changing. Myers says; “Out of Orbit’s development has centered around the growth of Northern Ireland’s film sector. All our films have used local talent and technicians trained by the best in the business. In Belfast we have the potential to continue growing and develop into a company with a global reach. Things are good for us here.” Follow Out of Orbit

 @outoforbitfilms

SYNCNI MAGAZINE SPRING 2015

Event Spotlight

Upcoming Events

Expo NI // 20th May, 10am Ramada Plaza, Belfast

 WWC Hackathon

After the success of our events around the UK since 2010 we’re thrilled to bring the ultimate small business show to Belfast

and connect with the region’s movers and shakers. Book your free tickets online and bring your

Expo NI will arrive in Belfast at the Ramada Plaza, Shaws Bridge, Belfast in May 2015. We look forward to welcoming you and around 400 delegates. With over 110 companies set to exhibit, Expo NI is set to be the brightest B2B event in the region designed for SME’s and run by SME’s. We’ll have a stunning line up of world class speakers as well as innovative new ways to network

 Invent Awards 2015

friends, colleagues and business associates along for a great day and the best way to build your businesses with everything under one roof.

oneyConf will bring the innovators who are building the finance technologies of the 21st century together with leaders from the world’s largest and mostestablished financial institutions

 exponi.co.uk

a huge amount about the trends that are shaping the future of finance systems and technologies.

Attending will also help you learn

 Belfast Photo Festival WHEN 4 - 30th June WHERE Various venues TWITTER @BelfastPhotoFes

Promote your event to NI’s tech & business community By featuring on Sync NI’s website & magazine your event will reach 1000’s of readers & active users. Email info@syncni.com today to find more

We’ll help you navigate this ecosystem and give you a highlevel overview of the innovations happening, while also enabling you to dig deeper into specific areas relevant to your business. With various stages, workshops, and networking events, MoneyConf offers a unique opportunity for you to immerse yourself among thousands of others from the world of FinTech.

BY NISP Connect WHEN 8th October WHERE TBD TWITTER @InventNI

Visit online Expo NI

MoneyConf // 15-16th June, T13 Hub Belfast

BY Women Who Code WHEN 6th June, 9am WHERE University Ulster Belfast Campus, Belfast TWITTER @WWCBelfast

MoneyConf will make its debut in Belfast this June and is the sister event of Web Summit, Collision and RISE. Visit online Money Conf

 moneyconf.com

SYNCNI MAGAZINE SPRING 2015

Logging Off... We have thoroughly enjoyed putting together this edition of the Sync NI Magazine which celebrates Northern Ireland as a hub and destination for business and innovation. This magazine also has a strong focus on financial technology. The FinTech sector is growing faster than almost any other segment of the tech industry and it’s an area of huge opportunity. In June MoneyConf will make its debut in Belfast; MoneyConf will bring the innovators who are building the finance technologies of the 21st century together with leaders from the world’s largest and most-established financial institutions.

is customer driven, being interactive and mobile. This bank understands that we are no longer becoming a mobile generation, we are the mobile generation! With that being said, our startup section showcases a company that is using mobile technology to revolutionise the traditional high street. CityBcon is a mobile app that provides small and medium retailers with a new mobile sales channel. CityBcon is tipped for big things and is currently part of the inaugural Irish Accenture FinTech Programme.

The conference provides us with a unique opportunity to hear about technological trends that will shape and influence the finance, business and enterprise sectors not only here but across the world. In his forward, Gerry Lennon, Chief Executive of Visit Belfast, reiterated that it is now time for ‘Belfast Aside from the FinTech focus, this to showcase the City’s strengths and edition also features a variety of topical skill-sets and the entrepreneurial spirit insights and interviews. that has become so evident in recent years, particularly within the financial and We were also excited to chat with technology sectors.’ Innocent Drinks, a company that has built up a legendary social media reputation One company that stands out in the and we loved hearing what goes on NI FinTech sector is Citi Group. Citi has behind the scenes at Fruit Towers. recently celebrated 10 years in Belfast, Innocent originated as a small stand at the company’s Belfast site has not just a music festival and is now a UK Market been beneficial locally, its success has leader - we were privileged to hear some allowed Citi to develop and replicate its of its marketing secrets! service into other global locations. The company remains committed to Northern Ireland after recently announcing its £54 million investment in 600 new jobs. It is fantastic to see a global company investing so much confidence in Northern Ireland.

In the words of Paddy Cosgrave ‘Belfast is one of the smallest, vibrant and most joined together places. It’s a young city and everybody is rooting for it to succeed’. There’s never been a better time to choose Belfast for business.

Our cover feature from Danske Bank provides an interesting insight into how financial corporations are leading the way with digital innovation. Danske has highlighted the fact that its technology

Thanks you for reading and visit syncni.com for a daily roundup of the latest happenings in the Northern Irish Tech & Business community.

Follow Sync NI

 @syncni

Join the conversation! Tweet @syncni with your tech & business news and you could feature on the Sync NI website! #syncni



MSc IN

CYBER SECuRitY (1 ANd 2 yEAR OpTIONS)

Queen’s University Belfast is a member of the Russell Group, a select band of the top 24 UK research-intensive academic institutions. Its Centre for Secure Information Technologies (CSIT) is a GCHQ accredited Academic Centre of Excellence in Cyber Security Research and is the UK’s largest university research lab in this field. CSIT is fast developing a reputation as a global innovation hub for cyber security. Our MSc in Cyber Security aims to develop the next generation of industry leaders and address the shortage of cyber security professionals globally. The programme offers students a syllabus informed by CSIT’s worldclass research in the areas of data, network, media and physical security, and is influenced throughout by its strong history of commercial engagement with world leading companies (Infosys, Cisco, IBM, Thales, BAE Systems, McAfee, Roke, Altera), its “Open Innovation” model and an entrepreneurial spirit. A key differentiator of our MSc programme is the opportunity to closely engage with CSIT industry partners. This includes the facilitation of industrial internships with leading security professionals, as well other commercially specified and co-supervised projects. Invited seminars and special guest lectures from influential industry and academic leaders offer students a chance to engage with those at the pinnacle of the cyber security profession.

go.qub.ac.uk/cybers for more or contact: Dr Kieran McLaughlin, Email: csitmsc@qub.ac.uk, Tel: +44 (0) 28 9097 1890

SchooL of Electronics, Electrical Engineering and Computer Science www.qub.ac.uk/eeecs

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