CereProc and Telisma voice the announcement of an ideal partnership

Mon, 23 Jan 2012 11:34:58 GMT

Advanced Text to Speech (TTS) solutions company CereProc has agreed a partnership with Automatic Speech Recognition (ASR) systems expert Telisma, enabling the creation of the most natural voice input and output systems available on the global market.

In an agreement which marks the connection of two speech technology industry giants, CereProc has been selected by Telisma to support a multi server deployment initiative which demands high quality French, English, Spanish and German voices.

Telisma, an OnMobile Global Ltd company, recognised the potential of integrating the complementary technologies of CereProc, with its own software speech technology, to form powerful and scalable solutions for customers seeking enhanced natural and accurate voice input and output carrier-grade systems which are tuned into specific vernacular language and accents.

Ideal for the project with Telisma, CereProc delivers speech content in multiple languages offering a natural prosody and characterful voices which are pleasant to listen to for long periods of time, essential when interacting with screenless, remote entertainment devices. Setting the standard in TTS technology and custom built voices, CereProc is recognised for English, Spanish German and French, with the latter ‘Metropolitan French’ voice existing as the most natural, realistic and characterful French TTs voice available.

“The partnership with Telisma is certainly a very exciting one. Both companies are operating at the cutting edge of speech technology, so it really is the coming together of the best technologies available on the market and we are thrilled to be involved in the production and delivery of such ground-breaking systems,” said Paul Welham, CEO at CereProc.

Going beyond a partnership of technologies, Telisma and CereProc also worked closely on MRCP server integration with the teliSpeech platform to facilitate the deployment of CereProc voices in telephony environments along with Telisma's technology.

An advanced programme of onsite training provided by CereProc, together with a professional responsiveness - turning around patches and voice updates for Telisma in a timely manner - ensured an efficient and effective integration process. Following CereProc’s training, Telisma now holds the expertise required to harness the unprecedented levels of control and modification capabilities of the core speech synthesis engine CereVoice, optimising the performance and effectiveness of this partnership of such pioneering speech technologies

ISLI to speak at the IMechE's Improving Aircraft Engine Health Management Event

Fri, 18 Nov 2011 14:36:08 GMT

The Institute for Mechanical Engineering has invited ISLI Director Dr Mark Begbie to demonstrate the benefits of wireless data gathering systems can offer the aerospace sector to a prestigious audience of engineers, academics and senior figures from the aviation industry.

Set to take place in Derby on November 23, the event 'Improving Aircraft Engine Health Management: Future Technologies, Today' is scheduled to focus on driving continued improvements in aircraft energy efficiency and reducing flying costs through technology. Joining a host of high profile speakers, Dr Begbie will deliver a detailed presentation on the benefits of wireless data gathering systems for condition monitoring in the highly complex aerospace environments, drawing from experience developing such systems alongside some of the aviation world's biggest companies.

"This event is shaping up to be an exciting opportunity for all those involved. Having worked within the field of intelligent systems for many years, we've watched as the potential for such devices has become increasingly evident to the sector," said Dr Begbie.

The event will centre on engine health monitoring and its vital role in delivering environmentally responsible aircraft and how the potential of these techniques can be fully realised. Industry experts will explore the latest advances in health management and the application of techniques to aircraft components, with speakers due to discuss the potential cost savings and increased efficiency they provide for fleet management.

Key features of assessing aircraft engine performance will be brought together offering an excellent opportunity to exchange ideas and experiences across different sectors. Providing an overview of the use cases and technology landscape, Dr Mark Begbie will deliver an outline of the analysis identifying technology development candidates, the current system status, capabilities, limitations and routes to mitigation of these, and the forward looking opportunities for further development and deployment of derivative systems.

Having joined ISLI in September 2003 to extend the reach of the Institute into the field of silicon MEMS, including integration with CMOS electronics, Dr Begbie has since managed the integration of the physical layer electronics, embedded systems and MEMS technology interests of the Institute into a single integrated systems activity. Passionate about the role of new and emerging technologies and applications in economic development, Dr Begbie has led ISLI in becoming one of the leading institutes to bridge the technological gap between the academic and commercial engineering worlds. The result of which has led to an increase in the value and extent of company engagements in high level R&D, which is particularly evident in their work on a number of high profile projects with brands including engineering giant Rolls Royce, Airbus UK, and AgustaWestland.

Attracting attendees from industries including research & technology customers, end users, technology integrators, technology manufacturers, research students and recent graduates, the event looks to be an exciting opportunity for those interested in understanding the health management challenges from a civil and military perspective, finding out recent technological advances in health management and discovering what operators need and want from future systems. And offering a number of technological advantages including; ensuring you are meeting the needs of your customers, debating future technology drivers and gaining a fuller understanding of the latest research and its applications, this event looks to be a valuable opportunity for companies concerned with these sectors.

This one day seminar will take place on Wednesday 23 November 2011, at the Derby Conference Centre, and can be booked here.

Advanced Text to Speech technology company CereProc launches CereVoice 3.0

Wed, 09 Nov 2011 10:12:41 GMT

Text-to-speech specialist CereProc has unveiled version 3.0 of its core synthesis technology, introducing a range of features including iPhone compatibility, improved performance and support for an enhanced range of languages.

Launching version 3.0 of its core synthesis engine, CereVoice, the UK's only text-to-speech (TTS) solutions company has updated the service to enhance accessibility and performance. In a release designed to extend the product’s reach in global markets across multiple platforms, voices with character and personality have been included in more languages than ever before, while the introduction of support for iOS brings the technology to mobile phones and tablets for the first time.

“We’re delighted to be able to introduce CereVoice to a whole new international audience with the introduction of three major languages. Our mission has always been to make this an international offering, and this release is an important step forward in our strategy to offer a truly global solution,” said CereProc CEO Paul Welham.

“This is an exciting time for the company, and we’re looking forward to talking with potential new partners in France and Italy who are interested in deploying or distributing high quality text-to-speech systems in their local markets.”

Responding to a blend of increased opportunity and global demand, CereProc have added French, Spanish and Italian to the existing language portfolio of English and German, while also increasing the number of English language accents to include US male and Scottish male voices. The updated diverse range of voices and accents serves to enhance user experience, optimising performance and reception of the realistic speech solutions among local or regional users.

The increased choice of languages heads up a range of new features and upgrades in CereVoice 3.0:

Voices now support 64-bit versions of Windows, SAPI for .NET 4, and the latest version of OS X, Lion

New CereVoice Software Development Kit (SDK) for Windows, OS X and Linux, with a simplified speech API, allowing developers to integrate CereVoice into their application with just a few lines of code

New iPhone OS (iOS) SDK, bringing CereVoice to mobile phones and tablets for the first time

Faster, more accurate text processing engine, with support for additional SSML and VoiceXML features

Improved cServer performance allowing more channels and faster speech synthesis, even on commodity hardware (up to 340 x real time performance on Intel Core i7)

New MRCP standard (Media Resource Control Protocol, v1 and v2) cServer Connector, simplifying deployment of our robust, high performance, multi-channel cServer on telephony platforms

Improved speech compression for crisper, clearer audio quality up to 48khz

Although the new English, US and Scottish voices have been added to CereProc’s commercial library, the advanced speech technology experts have made the Scottish male voice available free to schools in Scotland via the Scottish Voice website at http://www.thescottishvoice.org.uk.

Paul Welham added: “While the voices that bring their devices alive are the natural focus for our users, this release has also been very much about constantly improving the technology that makes it all run. These upgrades have been designed to make CereVoice an even more robust, more powerful tool.”

Voices can be downloaded at http://www.cereproc.com/en/store. For SDK and cServer contact sales via http://www.cereproc.com/en/contactus

SCC says Data Centre revolution to underpin decade of change

Fri, 21 Oct 2011 10:32:33 GMT

SCC Chief Technical Officer Rhys Sharp has told an audience at the 2011 IP Expo in London that a combination of recent advances in data centre technology and budgetary pressures are driving businesses to fundamentally rethink the way they consume IT.

At a session organised by networking giants Cisco -Building a Data Centre ready for Cloud - Sharp briefed attendees on SCC's decade long strategy of investment in its custom built hosting facilities, a policy he believes has paved the way for a major cultural change in the way businesses think of and use technology. Citing a robust 21st Century infrastructure built on improved storage, ubiquitous connectivity and network resilience, he told the Earls Court audience that ten years of perpetual evolution have delivered a modern data centre capable of supporting a completely different approach to corporate computing.

"Together with the financial imperatives brought by the economic slow down, the emergence of the modern data centre has created a perfect storm where businesses are not only capable of effecting major changes in their use of IT, but also have a powerful motivation to do so as quickly as is practicable. The fact that companies across the country are under pressure to deliver their processes faster, better and more cheaply than ever before may not be new, but at least now we have the technology we need to really do something about it," said Sharp.

"In less than a decade we've seen a series of rapid developments that have taken us from the point where a data centre was just a server room in the corner of an office to the point where it has become a highly complex, state-of-the-art instillation in its own right. Now, as users begin switching from the distributed computing environment to a centralised approach, I believe we are poised to witness ten years of even more rapid development as enterprises move quickly towards adopting a Technology as a Service model."

SCC's IP Expo session demonstrated to participants how building a new Data Centre today requires a fresh approach and a new way of thinking, as the pace of change in the technology sector accelerates we see a new generation of virtualisation capabilities arrive that deliver greater convergence and higher levels of optimisation. Sharp showed how bringing these technologies together has helped the company build an award winning efficient data centre and cloud platform that is ready for the demands of 21st century cloud computing.

Launched in 2010, SCC's latest custom built data centre was awarded the Green Grid Award for Sustainability 2011 at the Data Centres in Europe Awards earlier this year. Located in its UK technology campus, the company's Dual Data Centre sites are at the heart of the UK transport network, allowing easy access for engineers. The location also avoids any problems associated with the extensive pressure being put on London’s power grid, both from ongoing growth and from the expected demands of the forthcoming Olympic Games, the threat of power shortages and the possibility of brownouts or rolling blackouts, which has recently raised concerns in the data centre industry.

Rhys Sharp was speaking at the IP EXPO at Earls Court, London. Visit SCC at Stand A8 within the Cisco village to see how our Data Centre services can provide you affordable, immediate and risk free access to the smartest business enabling technologies and solutions tailored to your needs.

Skype launches iPad-optimised app

Wed, 03 Aug 2011 10:26:48 GMT

Skype has announced the release of its Skype for iPad app, bringing more than 25 million iPad* users a Skype video calling experience optimized for their tablet device. Available to download from Apple’s iTunes App Store today, the new Skype for iPad app lets users make and/or receive free** Skype-to-Skype video calls from their iPad to an array of Internet-connected devices over WiFi or 3G.

Skype's first iPad-optimized app boasts a number of key features designed specifically for the iPad. Skype for iPad users can take advantage of the device's large screen for video calls that deliver up to VGA quality video (640x480) at 15 frames per second. In addition, Skype for iPad lets users connect via video call on the iPad with even more Skype contacts, as it is compatible with a host of other Skype applications, including: Skype for iPhone, Skype for Mac, Skype for Windows PC, Skype for Android, Skype on HDTVs and many more.

Skype for iPad also takes advantage of the iPad's larger screen with an updated Contacts view, which displays Skype contacts as large avatars in a grid layout. Users can also more easily find and resume recent conversations and calls through an updated history window.

"We've heard the demand for Skype video calling on more devices and we are delighted to deliver on this with our new Skype for iPad app." said Neil Stevens, Skype's vice president and general manager for product and marketing. "Skype for iPad gives Skype users the best of both worlds for video calling: the large screen and display of a personal computer, but the portability of a mobile phone. We've taken advantage of the iPad's large screen and optimized the user experience along with making it easier than ever to navigate through the new intuitive interface."

In addition to video calling, Skype for iPad allows users to place and receive Skype-to-Skype voice calls, as well as send IMs and SMS text messages, plus make calls to landlines and mobile phones at Skype's great calling rates.

Skype for iPad works on iPads updated with the most recent iOS firmware. Two-way video calling is available on the iPad 2. Users of the original iPad are able to receive video during Skype-to-Skype calls. They can still make Skype voice calls and IM with users running Skype on other devices.

The application is available for free download from the iTunes App Store.**

Notes to Editors:
*According to Apple
**Additional data charges may apply.

About Skype:
Skype is a communications software whose purpose is to break down barriers to communication. With an Internet-connected device, families, friends and colleagues can get together for free with messaging, voice and video. At low cost, they can also call landlines or mobiles virtually anywhere in the world. Skype has recently introduced group video, allowing groups of more than two people to do things together whenever they're apart.

Founded in 2003 and based in Luxembourg. Skype can be downloaded onto computers, mobile phones and other connected devices for free at www.skype.com.

Atos extends contract with the IPC

Fri, 29 Jul 2011 11:55:36 GMT

Atos, an international IT services company, has announced an extension to its current partnership with the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) to include the London 2012 Paralympic Games.

Under the agreement between Atos and the IPC, Atos will further contribute to the development of the Paralympic Movement by designing, building and running its new website, www.paralympic.org, which aims to become the worldwide information source for the Paralympic Movement. Atos will also continue to collaborate with the IPC and engage in joint activities to support the International Paralympic Foundation.

Atos confirmed that, with just over one year to go to the start of the London 2012 Games, the technology it is delivering on behalf of London 2012 and together with the other technology partners is on-track and on-schedule.

"We are delighted to announce that a year ahead of the London Games, we have signed a new contract with the IPC to help them better promote the Paralympic sports and athletes," said Patrick Adiba, CEO Atos for Iberia, Olympics and Major Events. "We are absolutely committed to continuing our long-standing collaboration with the IPC and are delighted to have this new opportunity to further support the International Paralympic Foundation."

Atos has been a key technology provider for the Paralympic Movement since 2002 and became the official Worldwide Information Technology Partner for the IPC in 2008. The contract extension announced today with the IPC extends the longstanding relationship between the two organisations.

"Our website is now our most important communication channel to promote Paralympic sports, athletes and news to a global audience,” said Sir Philip Craven, IPC President. "We are delighted that we can count on Atos, which has the technology expertise as well as the knowledge of the Paralympic Movement, to help us redesign and update our website to meet and exceed the needs of sports fans in 2012.

"Our aim is to make www.paralympic.org, which will incorporate www.paralympicsport.tv, the global hub of all news, video and information relating to Paralympic Sport. We are very pleased with Atos' engagement in future joint fundraising activities, which aims at supporting the IPC development initiatives and help to further advance the whole Paralympic Movement."

Atos will design, build and run the new website - www.paralympic.org - which is due to go live in autumn 2011. The new website will use the latest technologies to engage visitors and provide them with the latest information on Paralympic games.

Since 2005 when London was announced host city for the 2012 Games, Atos has been working with the London 2012 technology team and the other technology partners to design, build and test the immense IT infrastructure that will make the Games happen. With just over one year to go, the majority of the technology has been delivered. Key accomplishments include a volunteer portal, a fully operational technology Lab, an equipment Deployment Centre, myInfo+ and a Commentator Information System.

About Atos:
Atos is an international information technology services company with annual revenues of EUR 8.7 billion and 78,500 employees in 42 countries. Serving a global client base, it delivers hi-tech transactional services, consulting and technology services, systems integration and managed services.

Atos is focused on business technology that powers progress and helps organizations to create their firm of the future. It is the Worldwide Information Technology Partner for the Olympic and Paralympic Games and is quoted on the Paris Eurolist Market. Atos operates under the brands Atos, Atos Consulting &Technology Services, Atos Worldline and Atos WorldGrid.

Skype brings video calling to Android phones

Thu, 30 Jun 2011 15:19:36 GMT

Skype has announced an updated version of its Skype for Android app - Skype for Android 2.0, bringing Skype Video Calling to the currently fastest growing mobile OS*.

With the new version, users will be able to make and receive free** 1-to-1 video calls over Skype between their Android phone and other Skype contacts on the iPhone, Mac, Windows PCs and even TVs***. The Android video call app works over Wi-Fi or 3G data connections and can be downloaded for free from the Android Market or the Skype website using any phone browser.

"We are committed to bring Skype Video Calling to as many platforms as possible and are delighted to deliver on this with our new updated Android video chat app," said Neil Stevens, Skype's vice president and general manager for product and marketing.

"With approximately 30 million concurrent users logging into Skype at any given time**** and making up to half a million simultaneous video calls*****, the Skype video chat on Android app makes it even easier for users to share moments with their contacts wherever they are."

In addition to video chat, users can also make calls to landlines and mobiles around the world, as well as send SMS's to friends and family anywhere in the world at great Skype rates. All this comes with a complete redesign of the Skype for Android user interface. There's a new main menu on the Skype app for Android where users can navigate easily through their contacts, access their Skype profile to change personal details or see the balance of their Skype Credit. Finally a new mood message box at the top of the Skype app menu makes it easier than ever for users to share how they are feeling, what they've seen, or what they're up to.

For this first phase of launch, handsets that support video calling include the HTC Desire S, Sony Ericsson Xperia neo, Sony Ericsson Xperia pro and the Google Nexus S.

Notes to Editors:
* Source: Gartner report "Market Share Analysis: Mobile Devices, Worldwide, 1Q11"
** Additional data charges may apply
*** iPhone, iPod Touch (4th gen) with iOS 4 or higher, Skype for Windows version 4.2 and above, Skype for Mac OS X version 5.0 and above
**** As of March 2011
***** At peak times as of June 2011

Founded in 2003 and based in Luxembourg. Skype can be downloaded onto computers, mobile phones and other connected devices for free from the Skype website.

BT Openzone to enhance Internet services across Hilton Worldwide's UK and Ireland hotels

Thu, 30 Jun 2011 12:18:09 GMT

BT Openzone has entered into a strategic agreement with Hilton Worldwide to provide a fully-managed suite of Wi-Fi and Internet services across hotels in the U.K. and Ireland. The new technology will provide a tenfold increase in bandwidth and an even more consistent, high-quality online experience for guests at nearly 100 Hilton Worldwide properties beginning in Autumn 2011.

This agreement provides guests with BT Openzone Wi-Fi access, high-speed broadband, conference and event services in more than 17,000 bedrooms, public areas and meeting and conference spaces, including 24-hour customer support. The new Wi-Fi service will be available free of charge to all Gold and Diamond Hilton HHonors members and over five million BT Total broadband customers. BT Openzone users and customers from iPass, AT&T and other BT Openzone roaming partners can also use the super-fast broadband when visiting the hotels.

"We are committed to providing our guests with access to the very latest technology, complementing our world class hospitality, and are delighted to collaborate with BT Openzone to deliver an outstanding service in the U.K. and Ireland," said Robert Webb, Chief Information Officer, Hilton Worldwide. "This deal builds on last year's agreement with AT&T in the United States and Canada as we look to partner with the very best technology providers around the world."

Chris Bruce, CEO, BT Openzone, said: "The growing number of travellers with mobile devices such as tablet computers and smartphones, means guests increasingly expect to be able to log on wherever they are and with a fast and reliable connection. BT currently has 2.8 million Wi-Fi hotspots across the U.K. and Ireland. By expanding our coverage at Hilton Worldwide's portfolio of hotels, we are demonstrating our commitment in providing leading edge technology services to partners in a very demanding service environment."

BT Openzone will use an 'above property', centralised cloud computing architecture, and will oversee network operations, guest Internet support, network engineering, software development and 24/7 network monitoring for Hilton Worldwide's business Wi-Fi and Internet services.

Hilton Worldwide's portfolio of six brands in the U.K. and Ireland includes Waldorf Astoria Hotels & Resorts, Conrad Hotels & Resorts, Hilton Hotels and Resorts, Doubletree by Hilton, Hilton Garden Inn and Hampton by Hilton.

About Hilton Worldwide
Hilton Worldwide is the leading global hospitality company, spanning the lodging sector from luxurious full-service hotels and resorts to extended-stay suites and mid-priced hotels. For 92 years, Hilton Worldwide has been offering business and leisure travelers the finest in accommodations, service, amenities and value. The company is dedicated to continuing its tradition of providing exceptional guest experiences across its global brands. Its brands are comprised of more than 3,750 hotels and 615,000 rooms in 84 countries and include Waldorf Astoria Hotels & Resorts, Conrad Hotels & Resorts, Hilton Hotels & Resorts, DoubleTree by Hilton, Embassy Suites Hotels, Hilton Garden Inn, Hampton Hotels, Homewood Suites by Hilton, Home2 Suites by Hilton and Hilton Grand Vacations. The company also manages the world-class guest reward program Hilton HHonors.

About BT
BT is one of the world's leading providers of communications solutions and services, operating in more than 170 countries. Its principal activities include the provision of networked IT services globally; local, national and international telecommunications services to customers for use at home, at work and on the move; business broadband and business internet services and products and converged fixed/mobile products and services. BT consists principally of four lines of business: BT Global Services, Openreach, BT Retail and BT Wholesale.

In the year ended 31 March 2011, BT Group's revenue was £20,076 million with profit before taxation of £1,717 million.

British Telecommunications plc (BT) is a wholly-owned subsidiary of BT Group plc and encompasses virtually all businesses and assets of the BT Group. BT Group plc is listed on stock exchanges in London and New York.

Technology transfer experts ISLI to show Inverness how to create high-tech products & services

Tue, 28 Jun 2011 10:40:06 GMT

Experts from Scotland's leading technology transfer institute iSLI are set to offer businesses in the Highlands and Islands advice on how they can use the latest high-tech breakthroughs to drive profits and grow their organisations.

Hosted by the Centre for Health Science and Interface, engineers from Scotland's Institute for System Level Integration (iSLI) will show a free seminar audience how any organisation can draw upon the latest technologies to create new products and services irrespective of their level of technical expertise. Institute Director Dr Mark Begbie will show how his team have worked with a raft of businesses ranging from household names like Rolls Royce to home based start-ups in order to help them develop new offerings for a dynamic, constantly shifting marketplace.

"Scotland's businesses are famed for their innovative, hard-working approach, but every year there are thousands of bright ideas that don't go anywhere because the people behind them aren't sure how to turn their dream into a reality. We're here to help with that, and have years of experience helping organisations take those little flashes of inspiration through the process that will eventually see them become actual products," said Dr Begbie.

"If you have a great idea for a new product or service and don't know where to start, this could be the breakthrough you've been waiting for."

Set to take place on Tuesday June 28, the free lunchtime seminar will help organisations operating in dynamic marketplaces understand the multitude of capabilities Scotland's technology transfer organisations can offer their business. Demonstrating how companies can approach the challenge of knowing what technology is best for their needs, what skills they require, how much it will all cost and how long it will take, the seminar will include two presentations followed by a networking lunch offering the opportunity for 1:1 meetings for anyone who wishes to discuss specific needs or ideas.

Experienced in helping enterprises profit from emerging technologies, Dr Begbie will discuss how the plummeting cost and sky-rocketing capability of electronics, sensors and wireless communications can deliver critical market advantage for any organisation. Exploring how harnessing the power of electronic enabling technologies can take products to the next level, the presentation will also examine the trends involved and how the commoditisation of technology has delivered, and continues to trigger, disruptive market change.

Representatives of Interface will also provide a diversity of expertise both small and large companies can make productive use of, exploiting the expertise and research facilities of all of Scotland’s Universities and Research Institutions. The organisation's David Chapman will show attendees how companies can benefit from tapping into the world-class expertise, technology and facilitates whilst also offering free and impartial face-to-face advice to help businesses increase their competitiveness, develop new products and exploit new market opportunities by connecting them with academia. Regardless of the size or sector of the organisation, there is the potential to vastly gain from utilising the services of Interface, including guidance on funding opportunities and support to potentially access these.

The seminar will be of particular interest to companies or individuals with an interest in electronics and for those with ideas that could benefit from more ‘smart’ or ‘integrated’ technology, whilst also relevant to those wishing to access or discover more about cutting edge technologies in the research base.

If you would like to attend this lunchtime seminar - Enabling Better Products Through Technology - on Tuesday 28th June at 12pm - 13.30pm (lunch provided) at the Centre for Health Science, Old Perth Road, Inverness, IV2 3JH, please email thecompany@cfhs.eu.

iSLI unveils new academic and business websites at Scottish Technology Showcase

Tue, 07 Jun 2011 14:48:53 GMT

Technology transfer institute iSLI has used the opening of the 2011 Scottish Technology Showcase to launch two new websites showcasing it's academic and business services.

The Edinburgh-based Institute for System Level Integration, which works with Scottish and international businesses to create innovative new products for a variety of sectors including consumer electronics, energy and healthcare, unveiled the new sites ahead of the high-tech business and networking event, which is scheduled to take place in the Glasgow SECC on Tuesday, June 7. Designed to provide a refreshed and updated platform demonstrating the Institute's capabilities and experience, the sites' launch emphasises a range of recent activities that have seen the organisation develop and sharpen the range of services it offers.

"The Scottish Technology Showcase has become one of the high points of the business year, and as such provides the perfect platform to formally launch our new online presence. We believe that this country still has the capacity to be recognised as a global centre of innovation and technical excellence, and are looking forward to working alongside a new generation of exciting young companies with the ambition and drive to make their visions a reality," said Institute Director Dr Mark Begbie.

Earlier this year iSLI launched the ‘DoRIES’ project to provide businesses across the Scottish lowlands and uplands with the technical support required to develop a raft of high value high-tech new products and services. Backed by a £666K investment from the Scottish Government SEEKIT programme and the European Regional Development Fund, together with financial and technical backing from Edinburgh, Glasgow, Heriot Watt and Strathclyde universities, the Development of Research and Innovation in Electronic System project is designed to support Scottish SMEs seeking to develop marketable products, services or processes using electronics based enabling technologies.

With extensive experience developing integrated system technologies for sectors including energy, smart home, health, aerospace and electronics, iSLI is ideally positioned to provide client companies with the technology and supporting guidance required to generate engagement and impact across almost all business markets and sectors. Firms taking advantage of the project can receive assistance with both the technology review and technology feasibility study phases of product development.
The relaunched academic site, meanwhile, focuses on iSLI's role in producing future generations of great engineering talent. Already reknowned for its EngD programme, which offers a PhD-level qualification in advanced engineering, the Institute's educational programme has recently been embellished by the addition of a new postgraduate MSc in in Sensor Networks has been designed to give students the key skills and knowledge required to develop industrial solutions at the cutting edge of this rapidly growing field. this rapidly growing field. A uniquely structured and flexible course, as with all iSLI qualifications the new degree will be awarded jointly with the universities of Edinburgh, Glasgow, Heriot-Watt and Strathclyde.

iSLI will be at Stand A14 at the Scottish Technology Showcase on June 7 in Glasgow's SECC.

SCC wins Data Centres in Europe Green Grid Award for sustainability 2011

Tue, 07 Jun 2011 10:23:32 GMT

Leading technology integrator SCC has been awarded the Green Grid Award for Sustainability 2011 at the Data Centres in Europe Awards.

Awarded the prestigious prize ahead of a list of nominees that included Colt Data Centre Services, Microsoft and TelecityGroup, SCC emerged ahead of a highly competitive field after judges praised an environmental strategy that combines innovate approaches to carbon reduction with an unrivalled long term vision. The panel highlighted the company's whole lifecycle approach to its data centre building - which saw an existing structure utilised to create a new facility founded on energy efficiency - and similarly commended the firm's carbon offsetting initiative, which distributes fuel-efficient cooking stoves to poor African communities.

"It's a very great honour to receive an award that's so widely sought after in the industry and a real boost for the entire team responsible for driving our data centre project forward over the last few years. In addition to creating a leading-edge service offering designed to deliver a series of security, efficiency and cost benefits while still enabling customers to cut costs, ensuring that those clients can be similarly confident in the green credentials of their supply chain has always been a critical component of our approach, and we're delighted that quality has been recognised in this manner," said SCC CTO Rhys Sharp.

Founded in 2008 to be the premier awards ceremony in its sector, the Data Centres in Europe Awards recognise excellence in the hosted services industry. This year's awards attracted record levels of competition, with judges assessing nominations for companies from across central and eastern Europe over the past three months.

The judging panel were impressed by SCC's carbon offsetting initiative, which distributes environmentally efficient stoves in Africa. Under the terms of the scheme co2balance monitors the carbon produced by the firm's data centre operations and offsets its output via a successful scheme to offer alternative, energy efficient means of living for families across the developing world. The World Health Organisation believes this project could make a serious impact upon the 1.6 million people in Africa who die every year from smoke inhalation attributed to open fire cooking alone.

"When SCC began planning our state of the art facilities in Birmingham we were conscious from the beginning that in addition to demonstrating our commitment to continued investment in the area, this project should underline the business' determination to adopt the very best environmental practices, ensuring that our contribution to the community remains overwhelmingly positive. This award is an endorsement of that approach and our vow to support our customers through economically challenging times, providing them with a secure and sustainable environment capable of supporting their IT requirements at a predictable costs," said Mike Swain, SCC Services Director.

SCC is a member of the Open Data Center Alliance, an independent IT consortium comprised of leading global organizations from a wide array of industries who have come together to provide a unified vision for long-term data center requirements. Visit the organisation at http://www.opendatacenteralliance.org

Revolver PR and SourceRail collaborate over cloud-based content monitoring and measurement application

Tue, 07 Jun 2011 10:23:07 GMT

Leading Digital PR agency Revolver and news monitoring specialist SourceRail have joined forces to test the company’s ground-breaking media reporting service ahead of its public launch this summer.

The project, which will see SourceRail’s cloud-based content monitoring and curation service undergo a rigorous testing phase ahead of its scheduled launch in July, has been designed to ensure the service will have been comprehensively reviewed prior to reaching the open market. Under the agreement Revolver will play an active role in the system’s ongoing development - gaining exclusive access to advance features - while the developers will have the opportunity to benchmark their platform’s performance using a raft of live campaigns.

“Having put a lot of resources into developing the SourceRail service we’re determined to make sure that we get it right first time. We’ve put in place a development strategy that will ensure the system evolves into one of the most comprehensive media monitoring, mapping and measurement tools on the planet. The final piece of the jigsaw was finding the right partner to put it through its paces during live campaign scenarios,” said SourceRail Managing Director Stephen Sheppard.

“Revolver PR provides the perfect match. They’re resourceful, dynamic digital natives with a strategic understanding of the media that’s hard to beat, and we’re confident that working with them will help hone the service as we prepare to launch.”

Providing communicators with the ability to source and republish content instantly, SourceRail’s founders intend to unveil phase one of the service this year, before beginning work on a planned series of upgrades. The company acknowledges it is entering a crowded market space, but believes that the combination of a game-changing charging structure and a continually evolving feature set will prove critical.

In a deal brokered by Scottish Enterprise fast-growth account manager Jim Scott, both Revolver and SourceRail will collaborate throughout the development lifecycle. Initial testing will focus on resource management however, with the Digital PR agency drilling down on the service’s ability to slash the time required to monitor, report upon and republish media coverage.

“Digital brings many challenges to the communications sector, not least of which is the opportunity to make our working procedures faster, better and more cost effective. As part of our continued mission to create an evolved public relations infrastructure we’ve been looking for the right reporting technology, and are delighted to play our part in the development of a service that promises to deliver real value to our clients,” said Iain S Bruce, Managing Director at Revolver PR.

SCC Introduces Carbon Zero Certification To Data Centre Services

Tue, 31 May 2011 14:32:50 GMT

The agreement, which enables SCC to guarantee a carbon zero status of services provided from their £20 million Midlands data facility, serves as another landmark in the company’s continued bid to ensure its service range complies with the most rigorous environmental standards.

With over 80% of the nation’s business IT systems running obsolete or unsupported software, companies are finding new ways of procuring IT systems to ensure they stay ahead of the game. In addition to meeting the highest environmental standards, the world class data centre meets the most stringent government security requirements and offers companies efficiency and cost saving benefits that only come from purchasing solutions on demand as part of a fully-hosted utility service.

Unveiled just days before the company attends the prestigious Data Centres in Europe Awards as a nominee in two categories, the agreement will be administered by co2balance in accordance with the Gold Standard scheme, enabling Europe's largest independent technology solutions provider to offset all its emissions via a number of accredited projects running across the developing world.

The scheme monitors the carbon levels produced by the firm’s data centres and offsets its output via a successful project that offers alternative, energy efficient means of living for families across the developing world. The World Health Organisation believes this project could make a serious impact upon the 1.6 million people in Africa who die every year from smoke inhalation attributed to open fire cooking alone.

"These are exciting times for SCC. In the same month that we have been shortlisted for two prestigious Data Centre Awards we're also delighted to have taken another significant step towards ensuring that all services provided via our state of the art data centres come with a credible carbon neutral guarantee. Clients looking to reduce their emissions are increasingly demanding certified carbon zero status throughout the supply chain, and as a company committed to plotting an environmentally sustainable path into the future, we have been happy to respond," said Rhys Sharp, SCC Chief Technology Officer.

SCC's custom-built data centres have already made significant impact upon the sector. On Thursday 2 June the company is in the running to scoop both the New Data Centre Award and the Green Award for Sustainability at the Data Centres in Europe 2011 event in London.

NOTES TO EDITORS

About co2balance
Founded in 2003, co2balance offers carbon footprint calculation, carbon management and reduction services and an ethical way to offset greenhouse gas emissions through Gold Standard energy efficiency projects. With each of its energy efficient stoves saving over 3 tonnes of carbon dioxide every year the company is a founding member of ICROA, a trade alliance which provides leadership and a unified voice, advocating rigorous industry standards across the carbon management sector.

About SCC
SCC is Europe’s largest independent technology solutions provider around the infrastructure, and is part of Specialist Computer Holdings (SCH) plc. The Group has regional operations in five different countries, employs over 7,000 professional staff and has delivered sustained, profitable growth for some 36 years, with annual turnover exceeding £2.25 billion. Long term partnerships with the world’s leading solutions providers combine with SCC’s services capabilities to create a rapid return on an investment in IT. It has an enviable track record of successfully helping European-based companies and Government organisations better manage their technology infrastructure, remove cost and create business advantage.

SDG appointed to drive channel growth for Wyse

Wed, 11 May 2011 12:17:04 GMT

Specialist Technology Distributor, SDG, has expanded its VDI solutions capabilities by sealing an agreement to add Cloud Client Computing solutions market leader, Wyse, to its EMEA portfolio.

SDG distribute Wyse solutions in the UK, France and North Africa, building on its formidable expertise in the virtualisation market. In the UK, SDG’s Specialist IBM and Lenovo distributor, ISI, will spearhead the relationship with Wyse, building a Centre of Excellence to deliver growth in key segments and helping partners to deliver new, virtualised infrastructure solutions for their customers.

"The market for Virtual Desktop Infrastructure is growing at a rapid pace. ISI has developed a compelling proposition around this game-changing marketplace and is committed to helping its business partners to drive the adoption of VDI and build best-of-breed solutions.

The addition of Wyse to ISI’s portfolio, means partners will be able to work with SDG as a single source provider for their VDI solutions. We recognise that VDI is one of the most exciting growth areas and having strategic vendors including VMware, Citrix, Symantec, IBM and now Wyse in our group portfolio, underlines our determination to achieve market leadership in this space.” said Rob Tomlin, who heads up ISI.

“Put simply, SDG enables partners to deploy new solutions and access the latest technologies and help them to enhance their technical, sales and marketing capabilities. This helps specialist resellers to compete with much larger competitors and offers major players access to solutions and services, wherever they lack expertise or capacity.

SDG opened its UK business Centre (BSC) in November 2010 as a key part of its partner enablement strategy, closely followed by solution centres in both France and The Netherlands. These purpose built facilities are designed specifically for business partners and their customers, to access a wide range of specialist resources and technologies and to design virtual infrastructure solutions containing multiple technologies, based on their customers’ technical and commercial requirements.

Mark Jordan, vice president EMEA, Wyse Technology added: “We’re seeing demand for our cloud client computing solutions significantly accelerating as more organisations review their desktop estate and realise that desktop virtualisation meets their requirement for superior end user experience at lower total cost of ownership . Our new agreement with SDG enables Wyse to grow its channel operations in response to this fast expanding market through SDG’s large European partner network, impressive distribution capabilities and strong focus on helping clients virtualise IT infrastructure successfully."

Zendit launch marks new era in cloud services development

Wed, 20 Apr 2011 11:04:57 GMT

Social storage service Zendit has launched, marking the formal unveiling of a unique cloud application service platform scheduled to underpin the launch of a raft of new online applications in 2011.

Billed as the first of a new breed of cloud media solutions, the social storage service offers users a new way to create, store and engage with digital content. Built using a platform designed to lend organisations the ability to produce cloud-based solutions faster, cheaper and more effectively than any of the available alternatives, the Zendit system also provides developers with the tools they need to create powerful and flexible services that utilise the latest technologies without breaking the bank.

"In the age of the app-driven internet, companies are being forced to take a fresh approach to the business of creating the next generation of online tools and services. We've entered an era where the demand for intuitive, highly flexible services capable of plugging into every level of your operation has gone completely off the scale. Across every sector you'll find organisations struggling to deliver exactly what their customers want, precisely when they want it, on whichever device they happen to be using at the time," said CEO Kevin Bradshaw.

"This is the challenge that the Zendit platform meets, and is a prime example of the kind of service you can deliver - despite being on a tight timeline and even tighter budget - if you embrace the advantages of cloud architectures."

Offering a compelling range of features including collaborative collections, image slideshows, streaming audio and video and full social networking integration, Zendit’s feature set far surpasses the recently announced Amazon's Cloud Drive service. Yet it was built in less than a year by a team of less than ten people.

Founded by Scottish entrepreneur Dr Kevin Bradshaw, the man behind the mobile entertainment pioneer I-Play (formerly Digital Bridges) and Steve Wexelstein, one of the country's most experienced online engineers, the Zendit team includes highly experienced creators of original cloud applications. The company uses its own bespoke cloud-based technology to provide comprehensive, scalable support for the new generation of Internet apps, available through multiple devices, browsers, smartphones and online handsets.

Several new services built using the platform will launch in 2011. With Zendit already entering phase two of its development, Bradshaw expects to announce a series of new development deals in the months ahead.

He added: "The recent emergence of user awareness of the cloud has created a massive opportunity for new players with new mindsets to provide the engaging, powerful, flexible, scalable services that this emerging trend demands. With its unique technological platform, rapid development times and critical cost-effectiveness, Zendit is well positioned to play a major role in this growth."

To see a five minute long full product demo: http://www.slideshare.net/RevolverPR/quick-zenditdemohd

About Zendit
The first of a new breed of cloud media solutions, Zendit is a social storage service that offers users a new way to create, store and engage with digital content. Built using a platform designed to lend organisations the ability to produce cloud-based solutions faster, cheaper and more effectively than any of the available alternatives, the Zendit system also provides developers with the tools they need to create powerful and flexible services that utilise the latest technologies without breaking the bank.

The company uses its own bespoke cloud-based technology to provide comprehensive, scalable support for the new generation of Internet apps, available through multiple devices, browsers, smartphones and online handsets. Dedicated to helping its clients make the most of their digital presence and realise their goal, Zendit's highly experienced team strives to produce the highest level of strategy, creative thinking and implementation for the digital medium.

For further information
Beatrice Mocci: beatrice@revolver-pr.co.uk / 0845 130 8992

SCC and HP agree new strategic investment to grow substantial networking business

Tue, 12 Apr 2011 09:56:06 GMT

SCC, the leading pan-European technology integrator, has agreed a strategic investment programme over the next two years to grow a substantial HP networking business. The agreement underlines SCC’s market leading position with HP and its expertise in selling network solutions that meet the end customer’s business needs.

The investment includes new recruitment involving ‘building a dedicated and specialist sales resource and both recruiting new and training existing technical expertise’, explains Andy Wright, SCC’s Director for Vendor Alliances. This will extend and strengthen SCC’s networking capabilities as part of a long standing strategy to enrich and extend its infrastructure services.

Andy Wright adds: “Increasingly, the network infrastructure is not keeping pace with the growth in applications to be a competitive differentiator. Our customers both private and public stand to achieve significant cost savings, reduce TCO and purchase price and use their network resource more effectively by taking advantage of new opportunities, such as unified communications. This will help to release business potential and create competitive edge.”

SCC already has a strong track record in the corporate UK market place for providing unified communications solutions having invested heavily in its capabilities and successfully grown a multi-million pound business. The new agreement with HP to develop its network business is the latest move to meet changing customer needs and help deliver strategies to cope with the new demands being made on their networks.

Alan Ryan, who runs SCC’s networking business, explains: “The network must be able to fully support both the organisation and new technologies, including unified communications, AV or VoIP, to achieve real competitive advantage. Today, employees have become accustomed to being part of an ‘always-on’, perpetually connected culture and the ability of an organisation to rapidly adopt emerging technologies is now a real expectation.

“We understand these market drivers and when aligned with our customer experience in the UK market, our strong technical skills and an ongoing investment in our networking capability, we are strongly positioned to maximise our customer’s operational effectiveness, reduce their cost base in the long term and align the IT strategy to that of the business to release its full potential.”

Line Digital to Create Business Value with Augmented Reality

Mon, 11 Apr 2011 14:12:24 GMT

Award winning agency Line Digital has adopted Inition's Magic Symbol technology to create a raft of new Augmented Reality services for its business clients.

Following a period of rapid development Augmented Reality (AR) has become an increasingly familiar feature on the commercial landscape as companies seek to provide users with a new level of interactivity by transposing digital information over a view of real world. Pointing to examples that have seen the technology flood into the mainstream market via brochures, advertisements and smart phone apps, Line Digital's executive team believes that the ability to deploy such applications will play a central role in the agency's continued growth.

“Augmented Reality is something we're keen to make work for our clients. As a technology it is maturing rapidly and as all the available evidence shows, there's real public appetite for applications that they can interact with in a richer, more engaging way," said Line Digital Managing Director Ross Laurie.

"Most crucial, however, is the value that AR can deliver to businesses. From creating truly immersive retail applications to driving footfall at trade and recruitment fairs, the range of potential uses companies can derive from this technology is virtually limitless."

Line Digital believes that the sense of fun and wonder inherent in Augmented Reality applications can help deliver business value in a range of exciting and unusual ways. From using installations at Trade Shows and Graduate events to generate traffic through to creating interactive office plans and venue guides, the technology is no longer the sole preserve of marketing departments and should be regarded as a tool suitable for deployment across the organisation.

The Magic Symbol partnership brings the market-leading AR technology together with Line Digital's proven business understanding. With access to the full range of Inition products, the leading Scottish agency is now equipped to create and deploy augmented applications via the web, in mobile apps or through physical shop floor installations.

"We're delighted to be working with Magic Symbol in such an exciting technology. Bringing digital communications closer to the real world is going to be one of the market's most compelling themes for the next few years, and the entire team is looking forward to meeting that challenge head on," said Laurie.

ENDS

About Line

Insightful, knowledgeable and creative. That’s Line. A digital agency that works alongside our clients to deliver success for us both. Using sophisticated internet-based marketing techniques, Line offers accountability and results, delivering innovative easy-to-manage technology and award-winning design. The results are here for all to see.

For further information, please contact:
Ross Laurie, Managing Director, Line Digital: 0131 524 3260
Iain S Bruce, Revolver PR: 0845 130 8992

HP announces new appointment for Carl Boustany

Tue, 29 Mar 2011 16:18:07 GMT

HP announced that Carl Boustany has been appointed HP IHPS segment specialist for Middle East, Mediterranean (Turkey and Greece) and Africa (MEMA).

Based in Dubai, Boustany will provide support for the IHPS team within the MEMA region, promoting the HP T200 and the T300 Inkjet Web Presses. Following the success of these products in Europe, Boustany's role will be to further increase sales for IHPS and boost the conversion of analogue to digital in this region.

"The digital printing industry is growing rapidly and there is great potential for the adoption of Inkjet Web Press technology in MEMA. I wanted to be a part of a company that is at the forefront of driving this growth," said Boustany. "I felt that this role would be a great opportunity and I'm really looking forward to providing this region with the technology it needs. Over the coming months, I will be looking for new business partners to support the developments planned and the growth of this market."

Boustany has spent 15 years in product and sales management within the printing industry and by taking his new role at HP, he was looking to further develop his experience and learn more about digital technology.

"I believe there are exciting times ahead as this is a new side of the industry for me, and it's still relatively fresh for the region of MEMA," continued Boustany. "Installing an HP T200 or T300 press brings fantastic business opportunities to companies producing books, transactional print, direct mail or newspapers or considering moving into these areas of business, and I am eager to start communicating these benefits to the marketplace."

Since its first commercial installation in December 2008, the HP T300 Color Inkjet Web Press has accelerated the advance of digital printing from niche to mainstream applications by offering cost-effective, high-volume digital colour production. The press prints a 762mm (30-inch) wide roll with 1,200 x 600 addressable dots per inch four-colour-process printing at a speed up to 122m/min (400ft/min).

The HP T200 press is a more compact machine, designed to fit existing production environments. It also easily supports the addition of full variable colour capabilities in two-up production mail and short-run or on-demand publications.

About HP:
HP creates new possibilities for technology to have a meaningful impact on people, businesses, governments and society. The world's largest technology company, HP brings together a portfolio that spans printing systems (including commercial printers and large format printers), personal computing, software, services and IT infrastructure to solve customer problems.

Virtual & Social World Creator Huzutech Working With Digital PR Company Revolver

Mon, 28 Mar 2011 15:09:08 GMT

Virtual and social world creator Huzutech is working with Digital PR agency Revolver to provide a comprehensive range of PR, communications and media outreach services.

Huzutech is a new technology company, working at the cutting edge of the online, multiplayer virtual worlds market. The company has created a technology which allows the fast, simple creation of online, browser-based virtual worlds, which can be wholly branded and seamlessly integrated into the leading social networking channels. Huzutech works with media companies, brand owners and advertising/media agencies to create a new generation of online communities.

Revolver is the leading Scottish provider of Digital PR services to the rapidly evolving digital media and interactive sectors. The company works with many pioneers within the video games, social media and digital design areas.

Graeme Harvey, managing director of Huzutech said: "Communication is a crucial component of a new company's activities. The recent growth in channels which enable and promote communication both formally, out to the media and informally, through social, online and digital channels, requires a partner which understands the opportunities, possibilities and way in which these new channels can be used to reach the appropriate audiences and help the company grow. Revolver combines a thorough understanding of the press and public relations, with a real passion and understanding of these new digital and social channels, which fits very well with Huzutech's. We're delighted to be working with an agency who are as enthusiastic and knowledgeable about these new technologies and Huzutech itself."

Iain S Bruce, founder and managing director of Revolver, agrees: "A company like Huzutech which is working in a new area, combining elements from several emerging and rapidly evolving new areas of technology needs to do more than simply tell people they exist. They have to educate the media, engage with their audience and communicate effectively if they wish to hit their various targets and achieve their business objectives. Revolver has a great deal of experience working with companies in this position, as well as the technical understanding and background to help effectively shape the message and reach the people who can understand it. Huzutech has created a very interesting new technology, which will be of great interest to a very broad range of different partners. We know that Revolver can make a difference to Huzutech moving forward and we're excited to be working with them."

SCC predicts pivotal phase in Windows 7 Migration

Thu, 10 Mar 2011 10:04:00 GMT

SCC has highlighted the fact that the IT industry is entering a make or break period for organisations considering the upgrade to Windows 7.

SCC’s view is that the next two years represent a critical stage in the evolution of the corporate desktop. With the security, efficiency and environmental benefits of Windows 7 well established, a range of compelling factors are set to see uptake of the updated operating system peak over the coming months.

"There isn’t one big reason why the next two years will be a pivotal point in the migration to Windows 7, but there are a lot of small ones that when combined will deliver the final push towards industry’s wholesale adoption of the system. Everything from the need for greater security and environmental performance through to user demands to work with the technologies they use at home will contribute to that,” said Rhys Sharp, SCC’s Chief Technology Officer.

SCC has seen an upsurge in demand for Windows 7 deployments, and that with Microsoft scheduled to begin withdrawing support for the XP platform in 2014, interest in migration is approaching its peak. With user concerns over application compatibility addressed and improvements in security, environmental impact and ease of management proven after a year in the wild, SCC believes that organisations will begin to significantly ramp up their upgrade plans over the next 12 months.

SCC also believes that the consumerisation of IT, which is increasingly seeing workers able to walk into their work environments with devices capable of bypassing their organisation’s IT controls could have a serious impact on security.

“Windows 7 has its own place in a cultural shift where workers can become unsatisfied or demotivated if their work experience compares unfavourably with the technologies they use at home. Like it or not, the business sector is being sucked into the whirlwind that has changed the face of consumer IT in less than five years,” said Sharp.

“Equally compelling will be the fact that organisations leaving it too late to start out on the upgrade path could find themselves squeezed by an inevitable surge in demand in the final months of XP’s supported lifecycle. The clock is ticking, and for businesses that run out of time the consequences could be serious.”

Ends

About SCC

SCC is Europe’s largest independent technology solutions provider around the infrastructure, and is part of Specialist Computer Holdings (SCH) plc. The Group has regional operations in five different countries, employs over 7,000 professional staff and has delivered sustained, profitable growth for some 35 years, with annual turnover exceeding £2.25 billion.

Long term partnerships with the world’s leading solutions providers combine with SCC’s services capabilities to create a rapid return on an investment in IT. It has an enviable track record of successfully helping European-based companies and Government organisations better manage their technology infrastructure, remove cost and create business advantage.

For further information:

Judy Groves: judy.groves@sch-group.com / T: 0121 766 2594

Top Articles Tagged with technology