Wales’ technology industry set to celebrate success as companies are shortlisted for prestigious awards.
A Twitter analytics company, social media lead generation business and recruitment analytics firm have been named as finalists in the Start-Up of the Year category for the annual ESTnet Awards.
Blurrt, Leopard Digital and Innovantage have been revealed as the three finalists for the new start-up category, as they managed to impress judges with their tenacity and innovative approach to the ever evolving technology industry.
The three companies highlight the growing number of innovative tech start-ups across Wales delivering their products and solutions to not only national, but global brands.
Blurrt is currently one of the only companies in the world offering sentiment analysis to the broadcast industry; it currently delivers solutions to one of the global players in the entertainment industry, Warner Brothers.
Jason Smith, managing director at blurrt, commented, “Being shortlisted is a fantastic achievement and to be recognised by the industry is a real accolade for us. We’ve had a successful first year and are looking forward to the future.”
Leopard Digital, a lead generation agency, specialises in using LinkedIn to reach out to relevant prospects for its clients including, Diners Club and CreditSafe. It attributes much of its success to being located at ICE in Wales, not only due to the funding and support offered, but access to universities for research and collaboration.
Ed Brooks, CEO at Leopard Digital adds, “We’ve had a fantastic year, being shortlisted for the ESTnet Awards is the perfect acknowledgement of our success. The ESTnet understands our ever evolving industry and the need to continually innovate and develop our offering.
In its first year of business, Innovantage has achieved fantastic commercial success, securing large and well-known recruitment brands such as Jobsite, Monster and All Jobs.
Richard Turner, CEO of Innovantage comments: “It’s great to be recognised by the ESTnet and to be associated with some of Wales’ top business leaders. Being shortlisted is a very positive way of demonstrating to our client base that we are a growing business, and further establishes confidence in our service and new client sales.”
The awards will recognise the outstanding achievements of individuals and companies within the electronics and software industry in Wales. SPTS, Axiom Manufacturing Services, International Rectifier, Gloversure, General Dynamics UK, Cassidian and Vizolution are just a few of the leading businesses shortlisted in the 2014 ESTnet Awards, which recognise the contribution the technology sector makes to the Welsh economy.
Ian Menzies, Chair of the ESTnet, the network representing electronic and software technologies businesses in Wales said: “There is a real wealth of talent in the industry in Wales, and we have a great opportunity with the ESTnet Awards programme to further raise the profile of the sector and celebrate its key achievements.
“We are very proud of the start-ups who have the drive, passion and the vision to make their businesses a success. It’s great to unearth new innovative technology companies that help represent the diversity of our industry.
Support for start-ups is no longer just a talking point, the opportunities are real and the three finalists are testament to this and fully endorse why Wales is such a great place to start a business.”
The award categories for the ESTnet Awards include: Company of the Year, SME of the Year, Start-up of the Year, Innovative Product, Innovative Software Package, Exporter of the Year, Supplier of the Year and Young Engineer of the Year. The award ceremony will be held on 27th March at the Swalec Stadium.
The ESTnet awards 2014 are supported by SPTS, Sony UK Technology Centre, Axiom Manufacturing Services, IQE, Coleg y Cymoedd, Electronic Motion Systems, HPC Wales, eIP, Harding Evans, Deloitte, Routability, EBVElektronik, Media Wales, and Software Alliance Wales.
The ESTnet has established itself as a high value network, providing the voice of the industry for the industry. It promotes the electronic and software technology solutions designed, developed, manufactured and integrated in Wales. These technologies are vital to economic success and underpin many of today’s markets. It exists to give its members, an environment where they can grow, create opportunities for strong business relationships to encourage trade, exchange knowledge, nurture talent and innovate.
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