Staffordshire-based Forensic Pathways (FPL) and Cambridgeshire Constabulary joined forces using FPL's Forensic Phone Analyser system to drastically increase and improve Cambridgeshire's ability to manage intelligence. This means criminals can be identified more quickly and linked together, saving time, cost and enhancing public safety. Like many police services Cambridgeshire invests a great deal of money in getting access to data, but making sense of this data until now has not always been simple, due to the sheer amount of data and the range of connections and possibilities within that data. Richard Leary, Managing Director, said, "Cambridgeshire Constabulary is to be commended for its commitment to reducing cost and improving efficiency, always with the eye on protecting both public safety and the taxpayer's purse strings."
Forensic Pathways' Phone Analyser allows the Police to make use of data from mobile phones and telecommunications networks. The system is able to manage billions of items of data and billions of items of associated data, helping investigators make sense of it and use it to identify and catch criminals. This technology is subject of an international patent application and is already coming to the attention of international police forces.
Forensic Pathways has invested heavily in the research and development of Forensic Phone Analyser to produce a unique intelligence tool, easily implemented and used by clients. The company has its own Research and Development Unit including a PhD programme which is funding three full time doctoral research programmes. One of these areas concerns making better use of telecommunications information to combat organised crime and terrorism.
Commenting on Forensic Pathways’ national recognition, Mike Musson ICT Cluster Manager at Advantage West Midlands said: “We applaud Forensic Pathways for its continued commitment to R&D, which is acting as a catalyst in the development of new technologies such as Phone Analyser. The West Midlands ICT Cluster is delighted the company has achieved national recognition for its work – Forensic Pathways is a leading innovator in the region, and Richard Leary is the chair of the region’s ICT Cluster Opportunity Group.
“Forensic Pathways is in good company here in the West Midlands, where we play host to a wealth of award-winning innovative ICT companies that are making their mark nationally and internationally. As the recent ICT Excellence Awards staged by the West Midlands ICT Cluster demonstrated, ICT businesses within the region are developing solutions that not only develop our ICT capability, but impact all elements of society – from healthcare, education, media, manufacturing, legal and security industries – so the impact we are having within the wider world should not be underestimated.”
For further press information or photography please contact Rebecca Curwin at Trimedia on 0121 265 2760 / [email protected]
NOTES TO EDITORS:
A picture accompanying this release is available through the PA Photowire. It can be downloaded from http://www.pa-mediapoint.press.net or viewed at http://www.mediapoint.press.net or http://www.prnewswire.co.uk.
About the West Midlands ICT Cluster
More than 3,000 ICT-related companies are based within the West Midlands, and one third of all UK publicly quoted software and computer companies are represented in the region. Major ICT players present within the region include Fujitsu, Capgemini, IBM, EDS, Oracle and SCC. The region has a strong talent base to service the ICT sector, with 21% of the region’s undergraduates studying computer science and business courses and Staffordshire University recognised as one of the largest providers of computing courses in the UK.
About the West Midlands Cluster Programme
The ICT Cluster is just one of eleven Cluster groups that have been established by the regional development agency for the West Midlands – Advantage West Midlands – as part of the Cluster Programme. Thousands of businesses within the region actively participate in the Cluster Programme with the aim to increase economic opportunities for the region and build the reputation of the region’s industries across Automotive, Aerospace, Building Technology, Business & Professional Services, Digital Media, Environmental Technology, Food & Drink, ICT, Interiors & Lifestyle, Medical Technology and Rail sectors.
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‘Stay Close At All Times’ (SCAAT) by West Midlands-based Mi-Zone Ltd monitors the proximity of a valuable object or person to a mobile phone via a small active Bluetooth tag, which contains a rechargeable battery. The tag is mapped to a mobile phone by locating the device via Bluetooth and then typing a code into the phone, which identifies and names the tag. Due to the nature of the product and the size of the tag (similar to a Bluetooth earpiece at approximately 1.5” in diameter) users can attach them to a range of items such as keys, wallets, luggage, pets and to children and the elderly.
Philip Jarrett, Managing Director of Mi-Zone Ltd, who has worked in both the scanning and mobile computing sectors for more than 20 years, believes the key to SCAAT’s success is its simplicity.
“There are more than 40 million mobile phone users in the UK, making this product a natural extension of a technology we, as consumers, are already comfortable with. Utilising Bluetooth technology also means the device doesn’t operate on a public network so it can be used by anyone at any location and because it is already a component of most mobile phones it can be developed, and sold, at a lower cost than alternative products.”
The phone searches for the tag (which also comes with its own panic button facility) and alerts the user via both the handset and an alarm and flashing light on the tag itself if it moves out of a pre-determined distance. As the user approaches their tag, the alarm bleeps more rapidly, enabling them to interpret their distance from the tag. Up to three tags can link to one mobile phone and each tag can be set to different distances (5M or 10M) from the user and set up with a unique alarm. In addition, the tag can be used proactively to locate a linked item, using a search function on the phone that sets off an alarm on the tag. This is possible, and differs from other ‘tag’ technologies, because of the development of a new Mi-Zone Java Software Script/Application that resides on the handset and interprets the instructions from enhanced Firmware on the Bluetooth module.
Armed with working prototypes, and its recent award, Mi-Zone Ltd now plans to join forces with a mobile phone manufacturer to integrate the application at the point of manufacture.
Jarrett concludes, “There are literally hundreds of potential applications for SCAAT because of its ease-of-use and affordability. One area that is particularly exciting is the public sector – for example the MOD, emergency services and education – where SCAAT could help prevent loss of valuable data and/or equipment and, through the NHS and the wider carer community help those caring for Alzheimer patients.”
Profile spec (and image):
TBC with Mi-Zone
Ends
For further press information or photography please contact Rebecca Curwin at Trimedia on 0121 265 2760 / [email protected]
NOTES TO EDITORS:
More than 3,000 ICT-related companies are based within the West Midlands, and one third of all UK publicly quoted software and computer companies are represented in the region. Major ICT players present within the region include Fujitsu, Capgemini, IBM, EDS, Oracle and SCC. The region has a strong talent base to service the ICT sector, with 21% of the region’s undergraduates studying computer science and business courses and Staffordshire University recognised as one of the largest providers of computing courses in the UK.
About the West Midlands Cluster Programme
The ICT Cluster is just one of eleven Cluster groups that have been established by the regional development agency for the West Midlands – Advantage West Midlands – as part of the Cluster Programme. Thousands of businesses within the region actively participate in the Cluster Programme with the aim to increase economic opportunities for the region and build the reputation of the region’s industries across Automotive, Aerospace, Building Technology, Business & Professional Services, Digital Media, Environmental Technology, Food & Drink, ICT, Interiors & Lifestyle, Medical Technology and Rail sectors.]]>
From farming to healthcare, education to utilities and media to HR, ICT businesses from the West Midlands are using their specialist knowledge to create and sell innovative solutions to a global client base that are located in countries including the USA, Poland, Australia, Sudan, Germany and Japan.
Held at the National Motorcycle Museum in Solihull, the Awards acknowledged innovative ICT companies from across the UK. From the ten organisations that were honoured, three firms were given particular recognition – Mi-Zone Ltd won the Technology Strategy Board (TSB)’s Special Award for High Growth Potential Business, while Wapple walked away with the ICT Excellence Overall Champion and the Chair’s Award for Excellence was given to Start Software.
The three companies operate in a diverse range of sectors that represent how ICT firms in the Heart of England provide innovative solutions across all markets to help many different industries manage or improve their own work.
Technology firm Wapple, which creates platforms for companies and brand owners to develop mobile internet sites, was crowned the ICT Excellence Overall Champion and received £2,000. The judges selected Bromsgrove-based Wapple for its technical brilliance and provision of a product that taps into the rapidly growing use of the internet via mobile phones. Wapple’s Architect mobile plugin product enables existing website content, data and applications to be presented for mobile users and mobile browsers. All graphics, forms, text and functionality fit perfectly within the phone screen and are optimised to every unique mobile web device – from wml browsers to smartphones such as the Blackberry and iPhone.
Start Software’s cow feed management software earned the company the Chair’s Award for Excellence, which this year was for Social, Environmental and Economic Impact. The Bridgnorth-based firm’s Total Diet Management v3 uses sophisticated algorithms to enable farmers to maximise their profit margin by analysing the cost and formulation of their feed and the value of the milk produced.
Finally, Halesowen-based Mi-Zone won the TSB Special Award for High Growth Potential Business 2009 – its Stay Close at All Times (SCAAT) technology monitors the presence and proximity of valuable objects, pets or people to a mobile phone device with active Bluetooth tags. The phone will be able to search for the tag or be alerted, via an alarm and flashing light, if the tag moves out of a pre-determined ‘safe’ zone. The TSB will provide a tailored package of support for Mi-Zone, which could include advice and support for market analysis, intellectual property protection, business planning, knowledge transfer, European funding schemes, public relations or international trade.
Sponsored by regional development agency Advantage West Midlands, the event is now in its sixth year and has received an increase in the number of award entries every year. Mike Musson, Advantage West Midlands’ ICT Cluster Manager, said: “The level of innovation, creativity and business effectiveness in these companies really impressed the judges. They should be proud of their achievements, and the Awards are testament to the growing technology sector in the region – which in turn helps other industries boost their own achievements.”
Ends
For further press information or photography please contact Rebecca Curwin at Trimedia on 0121 265 2760 / [email protected]
NOTES TO EDITORS:
About the West Midlands ICT Cluster
More than 3,000 ICT-related companies are based within the West Midlands, and one third of all UK publicly quoted software and computer companies are represented in the region. Major ICT players present within the region include Fujitsu, Capgemini, IBM, EDS, Oracle and SCC. The region has a strong talent base to service the ICT sector, with 21% of the region’s undergraduates studying computer science and business courses and Staffordshire University recognised as one of the largest providers of computing courses in the UK.
About the West Midlands Cluster Programme
The ICT Cluster is just one of eleven Cluster groups that have been established by the regional development agency for the West Midlands – Advantage West Midlands – as part of the Cluster Programme. More than 3,000 businesses within the region actively participate in the Cluster Programme with the aim to increase economic opportunities for the region and build the reputation of the region’s industries across Automotive, Aerospace, Building Technology, Business & Professional Services, Digital Media, Environmental Technology, Food & Drink, ICT, Interiors & Lifestyle, Medical Technology and Rail sectors.]]>
1,535 ICT and electronics companies surveyed on sales performance, outlook towards international trade and effect of recession on their cash flow
July 14, 2010: The West Midlands ICT Cluster’s annual survey of ICT (Information and Communication Technologies) and electronics SMEs in the region revealed a generally positive outlook for the community.
According to the survey, 30% of the ICT and 25% of electronics companies witnessed an increase in their sales revenue over the last six months. During the same period, 32% of ICT companies and 21% of electronics companies reported a fall in their sales mostly due to customers’ cost cutting measures. Significantly, electronics companies lost little business to cost competition or the introduction of new products to the market. Both sectors were positive about expected sales in the next 12 months.
A major possible opportunity was revealed by the survey. Amongst those companies exporting their products, 52% of the ICT companies and 87% of the electronics companies acquired their export sales as a result of direct enquiries: very few companies appear to actively seek out further export opportunities.
A significant minority of ICT businesses received their export orders through the recommendations of their existing UK based customers to their subsidiary or associated companies located overseas.
The survey also highlighted the impact of recession on businesses’ cash flow. As expected, similar proportions to the numbers reporting a fall in sales reported facing problems in their cash flow owing to the recession: 32% in the ICT sector and 23% in the electronics sector. Amongst these, a much higher proportion of the electronics companies have actually improved their cash flow. On a positive note, few companies have found their cash flow problems to be extreme during the previous 6 months.
While only a small proportion of businesses used sources of business advice, the majority of those seeking advice from the private sector, (62% of the ICT firms and 73% of the electronics companies), turned to their accountants as the first line of advice. Amongst those seeking advice from public sector sources, Business Link proved the most popular for 70% of ICT firms and 67% of the companies in the electronics sector.
Mike Musson, ICT Cluster Manager, said of the findings: “The last 12 months have been tough for all small businesses but we are glad to see that many of the technology companies in the region have survived the worst of the recession. We would like to see more companies engage in initiatives to generate more international trade, especially through projects like Bridging the Opportunity Gap and initiatives by UK Trade & Investment (UKTI).”
To download the full survey, please visit: https://www.wmictcluster.org/Download-document/209-ICT-and-Electronics-Sectors-2010-Survey-Report
For more information about the survey and the ICT Cluster, visit the website www.wmictcluster.org or write to [email protected].
About The West Midlands ICT Cluster
The ICT Cluster is one of twelve clusters established by Advantage West Midlands as part of its economic development strategy. These clusters have been chosen on the basis of their current strength in the region and their potential to create jobs and economic growth.
Advantage West Midlands is one of nine Regional Development Agencies in England whose role is to provide leadership and action to create more, better jobs and in improve the standard of living for all in the West Midlands.
The ICT Cluster will be hosting the Annual ICT Conference and ICT Excellence Awards on 25 November 2010.
Contact for media information
For more information, please contact Ranbir Sahota or Sara Pennant of Vitis PR, on 0121 242 8048, [email protected] or [email protected].
ICT Cluster to provide free access to video hosting platform so businesses can post company videos online
West Midlands ICT Cluster is helping local organisations promote themselves online by providing free access to a video publishing platform, Buto (http://buto.tv). The platform formats video for use on the web so that companies can then publish it on a website, blog, forum or social network.
Mike Musson, ICT Cluster Manager explains: “Video is simply everywhere because it’s such an effective format for communicating marketing messages. Nowadays creating a company video is both affordable and achievable using only a camera and desktop PC. The ICT Cluster is providing the final piece in the jigsaw by enabling companies to publish their videos online.”
The free facility, which started in April and will run until March 2011, is offered through a company’s registration on AWMist (A Web Map-based Information Search Tool) an online directory of technology businesses and support organisations in the West Midlands. Interested companies can submit videos for web hosting and will then have control over how and where the web version is used. The Buto.tv platform is able to provide detailed analysis of video views.
The ICT Cluster, in conjunction with Big Button, the Birmingham company behind Buto.tv, has developed a free ‘Guide to Promotional Video’ designed to help companies create their own professional-looking video. The Guide covers key topics such as equipment, content, location and audience.
“This is a great opportunity for regional ICT companies to highlight their products and services online to a global audience,” comments Mike Musson, ICT Cluster Manager.
“Video is a much more powerful medium for demonstrating the benefits of a product than the written word. We chose Buto.tv because of its experience with video content and its ability to help us to promote West Midlands technology companies using one of the most important promotional vehicles available today – that of video, ” concluded Mike Musson.
Will Grant, Technology Director at Big Button said: “Buto is already being used effectively by some major global brands, but as video marketing is becoming ubiquitous, SMEs also need to harness its power. It’s great to see AWM supporting the region’s ICT Cluster in this way, and we’re delighted to be working with them to bring truly professional web video publishing to local companies”.
Big Button is also in the process of creating a suite of videos for the ICT Cluster to help it promote the region as one of excellence for ICT and an ideal place to live and work in the UK. The videos will be used globally by the ICT Cluster and partners at events and exhibitions and to encourage business development with the West Midlands ICT community.
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Notes to Editors:
The ICT Cluster is one of twelve clusters established by Advantage West Midlands as part of its economic development strategy. These clusters have been chosen on the basis of their current strength in the region and their potential to create jobs and economic growth.
Advantage West Midlands is one of nine Regional Development Agencies in England whose role is to provide leadership and action to create more, better jobs and in improve the standard of living for all in the West Midlands.
The ICT Cluster will be hosting the Annual ICT Conference and ICT Excellence Awards on 25 November 2010.
For further media information, please contact Ranbir Sahota or Sara Pennant, at Vitis PR agency on 0121 242 8048 or email [email protected] / [email protected] .
About Big Button
Big Button, formed in 2003, was initially set up as a ‘corporate video’ production company producing films and graphical content from ideas generation through to final delivery.
The company’s video delivery system Buto allows users to upload and manage their entire video output as easily as they manage text updates to their site. The system stores and collates all of the video, automatically generates a URL, and also an ‘embed’ code, enabling easy sharing across blogs and social networks.
Big Button’s clients range from small companies looking to establish a video presence, right through to large organisations who need to complement their video libraries with new material or merely distribute it
Nine West Midlands Universities produce around 9,000*
ICT graduates/postgraduates every year
The ICT Cluster is supporting a number of regional initiatives, including recruitment services, work placement, career advice and training, designed to encourage small businesses to take on graduates from local universities, rather than the students leaving for technology hotbeds around Reading, Swindon and London.
A number of new West Midlands’ initiatives have been created offering free recruitment services and bursaries to support 1200 graduate placements for business in the West Midlands.
Small technology businesses within the ICT Cluster can benefit from a range of graduate schemes to help tackle the effect of the economic downturn on the region for both employers and graduates. These schemes vary in duration and subsidy from 4 weeks up to over a year.
Funding is available until September 2010 to West Midlands SMEs to help businesses get the best from a graduate intern. Support includes a free recruitment service to ‘match’ a business with the right graduate, a bursary to help pay the wages of the graduate, and induction training support. Graduate Advantage, is working with Birmingham City University, Wolverhampton University, Aston University, Staffordshire University, University College Birmingham and Newman College to deliver 700 bursaries under the Graduate Bursaries “experience works” scheme. For further details contact: Clara Wilcox on 0121 204 4767 or visit www.graduateadvantage.co.uk
Many of the region’s universities have other schemes in place:
Keele University’s Project FIT (Future Industry Training programme) – has 150 bursaries focusing on 5 main industry areas: Digital Industry, Professional and Financial Services, Ceramics, Medical Technologies, and those businesses thinking about how they they can exploit the Ageing Society. For further details contact Lucy Challinor on 01782 733587 or email [email protected]
University of Coventry has 170 bursaries available for work placements lasting between 1 and 3 months.
Many of the region’s universities have other schemes in place. For information on Coventry University Internship Scheme email [email protected]. For information on placement schemes from Worcester University, University of Birmingham and University of Warwick contact Helen Carvell on 0121 024 5095 or email [email protected]
Indeed the ICT Cluster has itself benefitted from the schemes. Graduates from the University of Wolverhampton, David Morgan and Luke Pearson, are both currently on work placement with the ICT Cluster through WMGI, and have found the current job market for graduates challenging. The interns have been able to bolster their CVs through their work as part of a team that maintains and develops the AWMist web application. David explains, “I’m currently developing a new booking facility for the system. This opportunity has allowed me to put into practice the Systems Analysis techniques I learnt at University.”
Mike Musson, ICT Cluster Manager comments: “There are a wide variety of schemes designed to meet the needs of both graduates and small businesses. With a wealth of technology skills across the West Midlands this is an excellent opportunity for businesses to add knowledge and resources to their business and for graduates and post graduates to gain valuable hands-on experience.”
For further information about graduate schemes in the region see http://www.wmskillspartnership.com/our-work/graduate_initiatives.aspx
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*Source: 2008 West Midlands Higher Education Institutions’ ICT Capabilities and Offerings
Summary of Updates Report
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West Midlands ICT Cluster names its first ‘Rising Stars’, innovative technology companies
Civico, Majestic12 and Spysure stood out among the Birmingham companies nominated by their peers as examples of businesses providing innovative or novel solutions and potentially helping to bring attention and jobs to the Birmingham technology community.
The Cluster’s identification of Rising Stars has started with a focus on Birmingham based companies and will continue to highlight commendable companies throughout the West Midlands region.
Two of the Birmingham companies, Civico and Majestic 12, are based at the Science Park, where Civico has taken advantage of the Park’s Entrepreneurs for the Future scheme.
Civico has developed CivicoLive, an online democracy engagement platform which enables councils and public-facing organisations, through their meetings, conferences and events, to actively engage with citizens. The technology aims to change democracy by opening up the process to include all citizens in the dialogue wherever they may be, so delivering greater access and transparency.
Majestic12 sells business intelligence – in particular, back links intelligence about who links to whom on the Internet. “We wanted to build a world class web search engine that makes use of the popular “distributed computing” model, whereby volunteers download software and run it on their computers,” says founder Alex Chudnovsky.
Finally, Spysure has developed an innovative PC and Internet Monitoring Software package, which records all online and offline activity on a computer. The main features include a website tracker, email capture, online chat capture on yahoo and MSN, screen capture and a key-logger which records all keystrokes.
“Our first Rising Stars are just a small example of the talented technology companies that exist within our region. They bring prosperity and jobs to the West Midlands while their technologies put our R & D skills on the map internationally,” commented Mike Musson, ICT Cluster Manager.
]]>Dedicated networking forum for elite technology businesses is a success
12 April 2010 - The West Midlands ICT Cluster, held the inaugural meeting and networking session for its ICT Excellence Club at the end of March 2010. The Club has been set up to encourage award winning businesses to share knowledge, create business opportunities and accelerate growth in the region and beyond.
The exclusive club, which will meet bi-monthly, was established in response to feedback from the 2009 ICT Excellence Awards winners who requested a forum to network with other leading technology companies in the West Midlands.
Members include winners and finalists of the ICT Excellence Awards, which annually celebrate the region's most innovative and successful technology SMEs.
Currently, the West Midlands is one of the poorest performing business regions in the UK. With the Midlands once strong manufacturing industry in decline, the ICT Excellence Club aims to bolster the positive steps already taken by the ICT Cluster to encourage innovation in the area and drive future employment opportunities.
“Our inaugural meeting was an overwhelming success with attendance from 34 founding member businesses, selected from the cream of West Midlands entrepreneurs. The number of businesses is expected to grow. We are working with them to establish a programme of activities that will help all members grow,” said Mike Musson, ICT Cluster Manager.
“We established the ICT Excellence Club as part of a series of initiatives run by the West Midlands ICT Cluster to build a dynamic community of innovative and entrepreneurial organisations who will be the future vanguard of business innovation in the West Midlands. Judging by the momentum of the first meeting, we are optimistic that we will succeed”, he continued.
Members of the ICT Excellence Club will also have enhanced access to AWMist, the West Midlands online directory of IT companies to facilitate business opportunities, collaboration, innovation and partnerships. Whist the directory is open to all ICT Cluster businesses who can upload free of charge promotional videos onto the site, members of the ICT Excellence Club are denoted with a special logo. There are also plans to create a bespoke area on the current ICT Cluster LinkedIn group for the ICT Excellence Club members.
In addition to the networking element of the ICT Excellence Club, future scheduled meetings will include a programme of guest speakers and two or three guest organisations to inspire and provide practical advice to members.
For further information regarding the ICT Excellence Club, please contact Mike Musson, ICT Cluster Manager on [email protected].
For further information on the ICT Cluster, please visit www.wmictcluster.org
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RFID Pilot in Supply Chain Management
University of Wolverhampton’s School of Computing and IT is to embark on a two year pilot scheme to build a system using RFID (Radio-frequency Identification) tags to trace and authenticate the source of food items; an increasing concern for retailers and consumers. IT Futures, an initiative set up by Advantage West Midland’s ICT Cluster, is based at the University and is renowned for its expertise in and use of RFID technology.
The production and distribution of food is the largest and principal activity for all countries across the world. However, there is growing concern over quality assurance and food counterfeiting such as the use of low-grade meat.
The purpose of the project, named RFID-F2F, funded by the European Commission, is to demonstrate the use of RFID at all stages of the production and sales chain, allowing products to be tracked across Europe, from the producer to the end consumer. The RFID technology enables all the details of a food item's history to be stored on a database, including detail of the farmer, the manufacturer, the storage conditions and transportation.
“There are huge potential returns on investment for RFID along the supply chain including reduced wastage, optimising logistics costs, improved quality of consumer goods and the provision of authenticated premium items,” explains Mike Musson, ICT Cluster Manager. “We aim to raise awareness among companies, in particular SMEs, of the potential benefits associated with the use of RFID technology, through live implementations in the region.”
“IT Futures has been at the forefront of RFID technology for a number of years, and I’m delighted that our capabilities have been recognised by the EC for this invaluable project. Through the West Midlands Regional Centre for RFID, we have gained experience of tracing food and that has proved to be a decisive factor in gaining the project,” comments Robert Newman, Professor of Computer Science, School of Computing & IT, University of Wolverhampton.
The project will involve international as well as West Midlands-based producers, processors, logistics and retail organisations. Businesses interested in participating in the project should contact: Lynsey Jones, 01902 323396.
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About ICT Cluster
The ICT Cluster is one of eleven cluster groups established by Advantage West Midlands as part of its economic development strategy. These clusters have been chosen on the basis of their current strength in the region and their potential to create jobs and economic growth.
Advantage West Midlands is one of nine Regional Development Agencies in England whose role is to provide leadership and action to create more, better jobs and in improve the standard of living for all in the West Midlands.
About IT Futures
IT Futures is a professional IT Solutions and Training provider based at the University of Wolverhampton. The specialist team brings together expertise of the School of Computing & IT to businesses across the UK.
Originally formed in 2004, IT Futures has a vast amount of experience and technical expertise in the industry to provide solutions of the highest quality.
IT Futures is also renowned for its use of latest technology including RFID which is showcased in the West Midlands Regional Centre for Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) at the IT Futures Centre.
For further media information, please contact Ranbir Sahota or Sara Pennant, at Vitis tech PR agency on 0121 242 8048 or email [email protected]/[email protected].
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Applications for the European Seal of e-Excellence 2010 are now open to award ICT and digital media companies worldwide. The European Seal of e-Excellence is widely known for promoting ICT digital companies with an excellent track record in the marketing of innovation, i.e.:
• Innovative products and services;
• Excellent marketing practices to promote them.
By focusing on the marketing aspects of digital products and services, the European Seal of e-Excellence helps winners promote themselves in the global market place.
HOW TO APPLY
The period to apply for the European Seal of e-Excellence is officially open till 31 December 2009. Interested companies may now apply online through the Seal of e Excellence website at www.seal-of-excellence.org .
AWARDED ANNUALLY SINCE 2003
The European Seal of e-Excelence has been awarded annually since 2003 by the European Multimedia Forum (EMF) and its Partner Associations at an Award Ceremony at CeBIT (www.cebit.com), the European trade show for the ICT industry. A jury composed of representatives of the Partner Associations selects the winners on the basis of an open application process.
BENEFITS OF WINNING THE EUROPEAN SEAL OF E-EXCELLENCE
Winners of the European Seal of e-Excellence are entitled to:
• Publicly display the "Seal of e-Excellence" logo in their own marketing programmes;
• Free membership in the European Multimedia Forum;
• Receive preferential rates for all e-Accelerator services;
• Other advantages in kind from various Seal Partners and Sponsors.
PAST WINNERS:
During the past eight years, more than 300 companies from all over the world have been awarded with the seal, amongst others well known enterprises such us NOKIA (platinum seal 2004), VASCO Data Security (platinum seal 2008), Zanox (platinum seal 2008) or PANGORA (gold seal 2007). Past winners have incorporated the Seal in their ongoing marketing programmes, recognizing the importance of the Seal’s focus on best marketing practices.
Sylvius Bardt, CEO of Questico, Germany. Silver SEAL 2009
We are so proud to win the Seal of e-Excellence the third time in a row. This award is a great motivation for us to follow the chosen path to offer the best products in the market to our customers.
Unai Extremo, CEO of Virtualware, Spain. Platinum SEAL 2009
We are really proud of winning the prestigious European Seal of e-Excellence Platinum Award. It encourages us to keep adding marketing value to our innovative solutions. It also means to us a big step forward in a European context. We would like to express our gratitude for offering us this great opportunity that enables European companies like Virtualware to highlight their achievements.
Sander van de Rijdt, CEO of negPoint, Austria. Silver SEAL 2009
The European Seal of e-Excellence is a very good opportunity for companies to receive feedback about the innovativeness of their marketing activities and to benchmark against other leaders in the field of marketing expertise.
PARTNERS
The EMF is the umbrella organization for the European Seal of e-Excellence in collaboration with Partner organisations which provide local support in their respective areas.
For more information – please contact:
IDOIA BUSTINDUY, PR Coordinator
EUROPEAN MULTIMEDIA FORUM
55, rue Hector Denis – B-1050 Brussels
Tel: +32 2 219 03 05 – [email protected] /www. e-multimedia.org