Issue 4 / February 2016
Public sector engagement in 2016 Digital Technology Awards 20 April 2016 Exciting the next generation Science Festival targets S1 to S3 pupils
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Public sector engagement Careers Hive Digital Tech Awards 2016 Harvey Wheaton Interview Digital World 1 Scottish exporting
COVER STORY
Developing business from the Public Sector
ScotlandIS LinkedIn subgroup as the agreed mechanism. The current plan is to hold the event in conjunction with ScotSoft 2016 – more details to follow. Public Sector digital champions programme: A major programme initiated by Scottish Government and supported by ScotlandIS aims to develop a cadre of Digital Champions and Leaders in senior positions across the public sector. Four “cohorts” of attendees (nearly 100 people) have attended a number of allday events over a 9 month period. Two further cohorts are committed for early 2016. Attendees are typically at Chief Executive or direct report level and cover all sectors – Scottish Central Government, Agencies, NHS, Local Government, Education and the third sector. ScotlandIS attend the workshops and organises one day for each cohort at The School of Informatics. We are also involved in the development of an ongoing training and development programme for the alumni from all cohorts.
Tommy Laughlin, Public Sector Liaison, ScotlandIS
A significant proportion of ScotlandIS member companies work in the public sector, either direct or as part of an extended supply chain. To support these members ScotlandIS engages on a regular basis with politicians and senior officials across the Scottish Public Sector. We provide policy input, for example on the new advisory panel for Scotland and across a range of procurement related matters, and work at a more practical level running events and workshops for members. “Meet the Buyer” event: ScotlandIS combined with Scottish Business in the Community and Scottish Enterprise to run a public sector focused event aimed at encouraging extended supply chain working. The event brought together major systems integrator (SI) member companies with a number of specialist SME suppliers, offered the opportunity to hear about the requirements of both the sector and the SIs and encouraged networking. Over 40 SMEs attended and feedback has been universally positive. A second event with a similar format is planned for February 2016.
“Public Sector Transformation” event: ScotlandIS and the Digital Directorate within Scottish Government hosted an event in November focused on the strategic challenges facing the public sector over the next few years and how the digital technologies industry could help. Over 100 industry and 50 public sector delegates attended which comprised a mix of plenary sessions, panel sessions and workshops. Feedback collated by Scottish Government was hugely positive, confirming this as an event to be run annually. The opportunity for attendees to provide further feedback will happen from January using the
Scottish Procurement: The ongoing programme of engagement with Scottish Procurement continues apace. Throughout the last year we held a number of round table and 1-1 meetings between procurement and member companies and provided input to strategy development, particularly around frameworks and the sustainable procurement reform bill. ScotlandIS has also presented to the National Procurement Forum. Projects Review: “Hot off the press” ScotlandIS has been asked by Scottish Government to
SUPPLY CHAIN NETWORKING THROUGH MEET THE BUYER EVENTS
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COVER STORY
improve their digital capabilities by running short life projects. We identified industry mentors that were prepared to provide assistance and support to
lead a short life project reviewing public sector ICT projects to identify any common themes on why some projects “underperform” while others go well. We are planning to run workshops and will be asking for support from a number of member companies.
the interns delivering the project. To discuss any aspect of our public sector work contact Tommy Laughlin at tommy@scotlandis.com
Digital Inclusion and Digital Participation: ScotlandIS was one of the earliest signatories to the Digital Participation Charter – a commitment from private, public and third sector organisations - to find ways to help mitigate the huge digital inclusion problems experienced by huge swathes of society. The charter is managed by the Digital Team within the Scottish Council for Voluntary Organisations (SCVO). ScotlandIS has worked with SCVO on some of its major programmes, specifically helping with the digital interns programme to help third sector organisations TOMMY LAUGHLIN, PUBLIC SECTOR LIAISON, SCOTLANDIS
Science Festival targets S1 to S3 pupils - Can you help ? engineering and life sciences businesses. The Science Festival team is looking for companies across our industry to support the event by releasing younger members of staff to help act as guides and facilitators at the world of work showcase.
Careers Hive is a major new initiative aimed at highlighting the wealth of opportunity science and technology opens up for young people. This immersive event will focus on the vast range of exciting - but often unknown and underappreciated - careers available to people studying STEM (Science Technology Engineering or Maths) subjects. By encouraging youngsters to discover where taking STEM subjects
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might lead them, Careers Hive aims to address the rising number of students not taking science in the later years of secondary school. Staged at the National Museum of Scotland, from 29th February to 3rd March, the event will include a ‘world of work showcase’, workshops and inspirational speakers, currently working in great businesses such as games makers, digital technology companies, advanced
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They also need engaging hands-on examples of technology in action so if you have great software demos, or interesting kit you could lend for the event, do volunteer it. Finally, they are also seeking sponsorship. Please let Karen Meechan at karen.meechan@scotlandis.com know if your business can help in any way and we’ll connect you up. www.sciencefestival.co.uk/careershive
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DIGITAL TECHNOLOGY AWARDS 2016
Digital Technology Awards 2016 - apply now The ScotlandIS Digital Technology Awards are being held earlier in the year on 20 April 2016. There are 14 awards, you can enter for more than one award and the closing date for applications is Wednesday 24 February 2016. Enter your business now to showcase your successes. The award categories In response to feedback from our members and the attendees of the 2015 Awards, we have three new awards in 2016: CEO of the Year, Best Education Provider/Training Programme and Big Data Utilisation of the Year. To view the full list of awards, the criteria for each award and to download the application forms visit http://www.scotlandis. com/digitaltech2016/apply/
wealth of experience across a wide swathe of the technology sector.
The 10-strong judging panel chaired by Martin Much, former CEO of Rocela and currently a business investor/ advisor, collectively have a vast
These Awards provide a unique opportunity to associate your brand with the vibrant and growing digital technologies industry in
Sponsorship and to book your place at this event
Scotland. Visit www.scotlandis.com/ digitaltech2016/sponsorship/ to view all the packages available. If you are interested in the sponsorship opportunities or you wish to book a table contact Kelly McErlane on 01506 472200 or email kelly.mcerlane@scotlandis.com
e-Placement Scotland confirms 40 Data Lab MSc placements Having sponsored 40 MSc students across The University of Stirling, Dundee University, and Robert Gordon University, The Data Lab engaged e-Placement Scotland to help provide 40 specialised industry placements for the students, starting in summer 2016. We are delighted to announce that 40 employers, ranging from innovative data-focussed startups to large public sector organisations, have confirmed
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their interest and are in the process of submitting their project proposals. There are still further placement opportunities available for the wider student cohort – these students are studying towards an MSc in Data Science, Data Engineering, or Big Data, and would add value to any organisation. We are of course still accepting term time and summer placement opportunities for
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other disciplines, including software development and digital marketing. If you ‘d like to promote placement opportunities within your organisation, please get in touch with Jamie Duncan, Employer Engagement, e-Placement Scotland on 01506 472200, or email jamie.duncan@scotlandis.com.
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INTERVIEW
Developing our future talent Launched October 2015, CodeClan is the new coding school for software, web and mobile development in Scotland. The aim is to create a new source of software developers that will allow Scotland’s vibrant digital technologies sector to flourish and drive the economy.
HARVEY WHEATON CEO, CODECLAN
How will CodeClan address the shortage of digital skills in Scotland? CodeClan offers a 16 week, intensive course to provide industry with the software development talent it urgently needs. We are aiming to create 100 entry level software developers in our first year of operation, ramping up to at least 600 per year across three locations after three years. How has your background informed the work you do at CodeClan? I’ve spent my whole career in software development, starting as a programmer and then moving into management of large-scale software development projects. I love all things technical! Through hiring software engineers I know first-hand the challenges in recruiting talented individuals with both the skills and passion to work in this fast paced sector. I’ve been a guest lecturer at two UK universities, and this with my time at the Scrum Alliance, has given me insight into skills development. I’ve been building teams of all shapes and sizes in a variety of leadership roles, which I hope is helping me shape the CodeClan team. How has the first cohort of students fared and what lessons have you learned for future cohorts? The first cohort has been amazing! They’ve progressed so quickly from a technical point of view but also as individuals getting ready to work in teams on complex technical problems.
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I’m certainly starting to appreciate the value of the intensive, immersive approach to learning and see this as essential to future cohorts. There is an incredible acceleration of the learning process for students working in small groups, for 60 hours per week and in a hands-on totally practical environment. We’re going to be continually refining the curriculum as we learn what works and also the skills and attributes our employer partners are looking for. As an example we made some adjustments to the pace and content of the first couple of weeks in cohort 2 after feedback on cohort 1 to ensure that whilst highly challenging, the content is delivered in a way that maximises the learning. What type of students are you looking to attract in 2016? We’ll continue to look for people from diverse backgrounds with the passion and aptitude to come and learn to code! To date we’ve had people who are looking for a career change, some who left university and didn’t find the job they wanted with their degree and several ‘hobbyists’ who have dabbled with technology and tried to teach themselves to code in their spare time. Almost everyone has little or no previous coding experience and the projects the students have already completed show how fast anyone with aptitude and the drive to succeed can progress.
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What do you see as the vital elements that will deliver growth, innovation and the success of CodeClan? For us, it’s all about passion and teamwork. Everyone at CodeClan believes in what we are doing. In addition to nurturing our students and providing a collaborative environment, we need to listen to employers to make sure that our courses meet industry demand. What plans do you have for CodeClan in 2016? We have ambitious plans for 2016 and are already starting to look at additional course modules around specific technologies to supplement the core course. We’ll be developing a Modern Apprenticeship track as well to provide another route to employment and offer choice in how employers recruit and train the talent of the future. Finally, we will be opening a second centre in Glasgow in 2016 and preparing for a third further North in 2017. Watch this space!
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DIGITAL WORLD
Digital World - boosting industry attractivness career changers about the wealth of opportunities our industry offers, and supporting the longterm growth of the Scottish technology industry, this initiative highlights the many rewarding, creative roles that shape our world, from software development to product management and user centred design.
‘Digital World’ is the new campaign promoting careers in the digital technologies sector, developed by the industry and Skills Development Scotland. It features a mix of TV and radio advertising, digital advertising and social media, with the tagline “What if ….”
The campaign counteracts preconceptions about the sorts of people who work in the fast-growing industry, underlining that careers in digital technology are accessible for all, whether you’re a student, a recent graduate or looking to change career. Most importantly, the purpose of the initiative is to inspire people to
Aimed at exciting young people and
ScotSoft 2016: Sir Chris Hoy confirmed as guest speaker This year ScotSoft takes place on 6th October at the EICC, Edinburgh. The premier Scottish digital technology event, ScotSoft 2016 will be bigger and brighter with a full day Developers Conference, thought leadership from keynote speakers at the Global Forum and unrivalled networking at the Awards Dinner. The Developers Conference will offer a full programme of speakers and an interactive and agile collaboration room to address problems and explore ideas. Sir Chris Hoy, Britain’s greatest ever Olympian, is our guest speaker at the Awards Dinner and will inspire
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us with his approach to overcoming challenges and how to achieve success. Each year ScotSoft brings exceptional opportunities for our sponsors to be associated with both an inspiring event and a thriving industry. We have a new range of sponsorship packages including Dinner Guest Speaker sponsor which provides the unique experience of a tailored Company Masterclass with Chris Hoy. If you would like to find out how you can get involved in ScotSoft 2016 contact Karen Meechan at karen.meechan@scotlandis.com
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challenge convention and make a difference with technology, showcasing Scotland’s worldwide success stories in the sector. Just consider the amazing ways digital technology betters lives. ScotlandIS encourages all our members to support the ‘Digital World’ campaign, helping to promote the industry. There’s an excellent toolkit so you can support the initiative for instance by downloading the “banners” to feature on your website. www.digitalworld.net/toolkit
Grampian update The Grampian area is home to 150+ technology and IT product and service providers such as InoApps, Codify, Intellicore, Dynamic Edge and IFB, supplying global corporations like BP and Maersk. The Cyber Security Lunch and Learn event on 30 October, organised by ScotlandIS in partnership with the Chamber of Commerce and Scottish Enterprise was extremely well received. Covering the GCHQ Ten Steps to Cyber Security, this interactive event highlighted the negative impact a cyber threat can bring and the steps to prevent exposure. Our 2016 programme comprises regular monthly meetings interspersed with specific themed talks covering topics including Internet of Things, Big Data, Shared Industry Applications and Growing out of Aberdeen. One of our first meetings of the year will be ‘How we expanded out of Aberdeen’ with ActivPayroll and Inoapps on 26 February in Aberdeen; visit our website for all the details - www.scotlandis.com/events. If you are located in Grampian and want to find out more about how ScotlandIS can support your business contact Allan Sutherland at allan.sutherland@scotlandis.com 6
CASE STUDY
Exporting and building sales overseas
KAL, founded in 1989 by Dr Aravinda Korala, provide ATM, kiosk and bank branch software solutions that reduce operating costs and set the standards for the next generation of retail banking operations worldwide.
Asked if he found any particular market more receptive than another, Aravida said “In a global market every country is different, but we find that when they are broken down they are broadly similar.
We spoke with Aravinda to find out a little more about KAL and particularly how KAL got into the export market. He explained KAL had grown steadily since 1989 and that an ongoing relationship in 1995 led them to their first export in Germany. Aravinda told us “We worked with NCR in Dundee creating software for their hardware. An opportunity arose to work with their sister organisation in Germany. Since then we have continued to expand our export market and now successfully export to 84 different countries and sell into over 100 countries. KAL is now a truly global company with approximately a third of our business coming from the domestic or European market, a third from the Americas and the final third made up of Asia and the rest of the world.” Dr Korala continued “UKTI/SDI ran a trade mission (MAPS) to Japan in 1999. The scheme allowed us to open communication with the banking and finance industries in Osaka and Toyko. The MAPS programme gave us reports on the local market structure, identified our main competitors and offered arranged networking sessions and meetings with relevant buyers in Japan. We have since taken part in UKTI trade missions to China, Taiwan and Korea.”
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Drivers are the same the world over, however local market structure changes – different tax regimes, for instance. Difficulties lie when there are strong local competitors. For instance in Germany and Japan there is significant local strength in the market and a local buyer is more likely to use a local vendor over a foreign company. However in countries like France or Italy there is no significant local presence and so they are used to buying from foreign vendors and so are more receptive.” He continued “ KAL now have offices in 13 other countries to help meet the needs of those particular markets. However in many territories to ensure an ‘on the ground’ presence KAL will work with Partners to sell our software into the local area.” When we asked Aravinda about the forecast of the demise of cash and the advent of automated payment solutions and how this may affect KAL in the global market he told us “Our software is diverse and able to cope with all kinds of consumer transactions in a public place, from with telecoms companies, to retail and of course, banks.” “Transactions are much wider than just withdrawing cash from the bank
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– think of oyster cards in London, while they are contactless payment cards, they still have to be loaded. At KAL we are excited about the future of ATMs and public transactions outwith the bank – there is a move toward Remote Teller System transactions. These are essentially assisted transactions that at present are made in branch, but in the future could be made through ATM through link ups with banking experts in specific areas.” To end our interview with Dr Korala we asked if he had any advice he would like to pass onto software firms looking to export, he said “Exporting proves how competitive a company is – can you sell into an external market? Exporting will allow you to prove your product with further reference material and case studies. Speak to SDI/UKTI, attend their networking events and join their trade missions to countries that are of interest to your business. I found them incredibly useful.”
Events 2015 23 February 2016
HEADS OF SOFTWARE ENGINEERING MEET-UP These quarterly meetings act as an informal forum for Heads of Engineering/CIO/CTO’s to share experiences, best practice and connect with peers across the industry. This meetup is invitation only and has a focus on cyber security. If you’re a CIO/CTO/Head of Software Engineering and would like to be involved let Kelly McErlane know and we’ll make sure you’re on the invitation list. Mon 29 Feb - Wed 02 Mar 2016
CPUX QUALIFICATIONS
UserVision are now taking bookings for the new, internationally recognised qualification for UX professionals - the Certified Professional for Usability and User Experience (CPUX) Foundation Level certificate.
for further information
scotlandIS.com/events 7
Members News
On January 29th, Edinburgh ‘cleanweb’ start-up, Topolytics won two highly prized Rushlight awards – one for the best environmental analysis technology and one for the best environmental technology. Rushlight is one of the UK’s most respected Cleantech Awards programmes. Its judging panel includes leading academics, business people and civil servants and the criteria applied are deemed to be amongst the most stringent. Commenting on the awards, Topolytics CEO, Michael Groves said: “To win one Rushlight was fantastic... to win two was phenomenal. Within Cleantech circles, a Rushlight is a serious accolade.” link website
Computer Application Services Ltd is poised for further growth after receiving funding support from investment firm Capital for Colleagues. Capital for Colleagues (C4C) will inject a mix of equity and a loan facility to a total of £250,000 into Computer Application Services (CAS), in return for a 15% stake in the company’s fortunes. C4C, specialists in funding employeeowned businesses, praised CAS’s mix of a steady track record and desire for growth as it awarded the funding. CEO at CAS, Ken Naismith, says: “This funding opens the door to exciting new opportunities for CAS. Self-funded investment of £500k has been released into the business over the past two years to extend and modernise our key product, Workpro. Now this new funding will fuel further growth.” link website
WamosAir choose Ideagen’s Gael Enlighten to enhance aviation safety management Aviation safety management specialists, Ideagen, are to provide Spanish Charter operator WamosAir with its leading cloud-based safety management software, Gael Enlighten.
Five new partners invest £128 in search engine Skyscanner Skyscanner, the global travel search engine, has today announced five new partners who will invest £128 million ($192 million) in the Edinburgh based company.
WamosAir aim to bring operational improvements including removing a series of silo systems which require excessive manual input and simplifying compliance. link website
The incoming investors will acquire an undisclosed share of one of Scotland’s two unicorn companies – those valued at $1 billion. This latest round values the firm at about $1.6bn (£1.1bn). link website
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Dundee University HCI specialist recognised in New Year’s Honours Professor Annalu Waller who has worked in the field of Augmentative and Alternate Communication (AAC) since 1985, designing communication systems for and with nonspeaking individuals was awared an OBE in the New Years Honours for services to people with Complex Communication Needs. Annalu’s primary research areas are human computer interaction, natural language processing, personal narrative and assistive technology. In particular, she focuses on empowering end users, including disabled adults and children, by involving them in the design and use of technology. She has been instrumental in establishing Dundee University’s reputation as a leading centre for research into augmentative and alternative communication technologies for people with severe communication difficulties. link website
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