Event Pairs Most Promising Emerging British and Irish Technology Companies with Global Venture Capital Resources

Ciklum today announced it was sponsoring the 2010 UK and Ireland Tech Tour, which will be held April 27-29 in London and Dublin. The Tech Tour will pair the most promising high-growth, early- and expansion-stage technology companies with representatives from the global venture capital world for strategic advice and potential funding. The funds that will be present at the Tour represent over €10 billion worth of investment capital.

The Tech Tour will see companies spanning a variety of technology sectors in England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland competing to become one of 30 participants chosen from a pool of 250 applicants. Applicants will be assessed on the uniqueness of their technology, the strength of their business model, vision, capability to execute on the business plan and the quality and track record of their management.

Henrik Bak, Ciklum VP of Sales, comments: “Most of Ciklum´s 100 clients are successful IT growth companies that often started small but have become their respective industries’ technology leaders. At Ciklum we have specialized in helping IT growth companies setting up their own software development at a nearshore location, which gives advantages equivalent to in-house development, but at a significantly lower cost – something that is important for success of such ventures. We look forward to the opportunity to share the experience gathered with hundreds of successful software growth companies over 8 years with tomorrow’s winners on the UK IT scene.”

Victor Basta, President of UK & Ireland Tech Tour, said: “Our sponsors play a vital role in the running of this key event, and we thank them for their participation and generosity. The Tech Tour will identify the cleverest and most resilient emerging companies in the UK and Ireland – companies that have weathered and even thrived during the downturn. It’s no exaggeration to say these companies have the potential to be the global technology leaders of tomorrow.”

Source:http://7thspace.com/headlines/335052/ciklum_today_announced_it_was_sponsoring_the_2010_uk_and_ireland_tech_tour.html

Abtran, Ireland’s largest indigenous business process provider has been named ‘Outsource Partner of the year’ at the CCMA Irish Contact Centre & Shared Services Awards 2009. The leading Irish firm was presented with the award in recognition of their highly successful business process services partnership with Sky, which was first established in 2007.

Abtran provides an outsourced contact centre solution to Sky for inbound and outbound Sky subscriber based services in Ireland. The success of the partnership is reflected in the trebling of Sky’s operation at Abtran over the last twelve months and Abtran’s significant contribution towards Sky being on target to reach ten million customers by 2010. Over one in three of all households in Ireland and the UK now subscribe to Sky services and Sky+HD is the fastest growing additional TV product in the company’s history.

Michael Fitzgerald, Managing Director, Abtran commented, ‘This is an excellent endorsement of the Abtran and Sky relationship where we represent the brand identity of one of the world’s most recognised household names. We believe that it is our ability to engage with the client’s long term objectives and to align our organisation with their brand values and people culture that sets us firmly apart from other business process outsourcing companies.’

Mark Deering, Director Sky Ireland added, ‘The calibre of Abtran’s business and staff, combined with their knowledge and deep understanding of Sky’s brand values, has played a pivotal role in growing Sky’s presence in the Irish market. We are delighted to share in their much deserved award success and look forward to building further on our successful partnership into the future.’

Dorothy O’Byrne, Managing Director, CCMA Ireland said, ‘In selecting Abtran as Outsource Partner of the Year, the judges believe Abtran have successfully ensured the alignment of their service offering with Sky’s strategic objectives and business goals. The judges congratulated Abtran on achieving a core requirement for the delivery of BPO services – improved customer service at a reduced cost whilst working in close partnership with their client. It was their view that the launch in April 2009 of a Learning and Innovation Centre to create smart, sustainable and scalable efficiencies will further enhance Abtran’s position in this growing industry sector.’

In October 2009, Sky partnered with Abtran’s Learning & Innovation Centre to further enhance their customer service offering in Ireland. The current pilot will enable Sky to leverage specialist resources, advanced technologies and expertise to gain in-depth understanding of customer preferences and market trends.

In April of this year, Abtran announced a €6 million investment in research and development when opening their Learning & Innovation Centre along with the creation of 250 graduate-level jobs by 2010. The Centre represents collaboration between public and private sector clients, government, universities and Enterprise Ireland and provides an opportunity for clients to pilot new initiatives in a low risk environment. Abtran also recently announced a €1m investment in technology to boost its capability in business processing services.

Abtran’s employs over 800 people. The company’s outsourced expertise enables client organisations to concentrate on their core objectives, to add further value to their businesses and to achieve their overall business development goals. Abtran’s clients include BSkyB, ESB, Hibernian Aviva Health, BetEire Flow and large public sector and corporate clients. The company operates technologically advanced facilities and has turnover approaching €30 million annually.

Source:http://www.itcork.ie/index.cfm?page=news&newsId=1335