www.syncni.com Summer 2019 DIGITAL DNA 06 EMERGING TECH 16 magazine VIRTUAL REALITY 28 Bank of Ireland UK supporting local business growth 18 We Are Vertigo 20 Mackle Petfoods Bank of Ireland UK supporting innovation Ambition, innovation and investment and growth at We Are Vertigo drive growth at Mackle Petfoods The future's in Sync Northern Ireland's technology and business home Employers… Do you want to engage with the best of Northern Ireland’s tech community, or highlight opportunities in your company? We can help. Contact the team today. 02890 820 944 [email protected] Your Career: When it comes to your career in technology, the possibilities are endless… Log on and visit syncni.com/jobs SYNCNI MAGAZINE 3 Welcome to the latest edition About Sync NI of the Sync NI magazine Sync NI is proud to be the voice of Northern Ireland’s vibrant technology and business sector. Foreword The Sync NI website and magazine brings readers the latest tech and business news, Gavin Kennedy views, jobs and events in Head of Business Banking NI, Bank of Ireland UK Belfast and beyond. Sync NI Contacts Editorial Phone: 028 9082 0944 ur strength in Bank of Ireland UK lies they face tough challenging commercial Email: [email protected] in our people and in the relationships landscapes, embrace change and manage we have with our customers. That demanding market dynamics in the future. Advertising & Partnerships O Phone: 028 9082 0944 means providing more to our customers Email: [email protected] than simply funding. We seek to be partners We provide a wide portfolio of flexible General Enquiries on our customers' growth journey, to financial products and services and Sync NI support them in achieving their ambition to access to local business teams, specialist Rochester Building 28 Adelaide street thrive commercially. expertise and a wealth of knowledge Belfast in global markets, asset finance and BT2 8GD Phone: 028 9082 0944 We recently launched ‘Bank of Ireland Begin’, invoice discounting which can make a Email: [email protected] a new brand position that demonstrates real difference and create very positive Online: www.syncni.com our core purpose of enabling customers, outcomes for our customers. colleagues and communities across Copyright Northern Ireland to thrive. With continuous new customer, technology No part of this publication may be and market developments it will be reproduced without the written permission of the copyholder In life and business there is always a new imperative that businesses focus on and publisher. Sync NI accepts no “begin” opportunity. In business this may be increasing competitiveness and productivity responsibility for the accuracy of contributed articles or statements starting, scaling or pivoting the commercial by adapting and adopting new approaches. appearing in this magazine and any views or opinions expressed are not venture through innovation, exporting or If you would like to talk about support necessarily those of Sync NI, unless acquisition and we want to work with and around business growth, cash flow services otherwise indicated. No responsibility for loss or distress associated to help our customers on those journeys. and foreign exchange with one of our local any person acting or refraining from business teams then drop into your local acting as a result of the material in this magazine can be accepted by We want to play our role to help to build branch or business centre to speak to a the authors, contributors, editors or confidence and support our customers as member of our Business Team. publishers. Sync NI does not endorse any goods or services advertised, nor any claims or representations made in any advertisement in this magazine. Promote your events to Northern Ireland’s Email [email protected] technology & business community or call 02890 820 944 By featuring on our website and in our magazine, your event will reach to find out more tens of thousands of local technology and business professionals. www.wpr.jobs www.wpr.jobs 028 9031 2009 028 9031 2009 WPR is a specialist recruitment consultancy providing services WPR.JOBS is a specialist recruitment consultancy providing servicesto the IT, Digital, Construction and Engineering sectors. to the Technology, Digital, Construction and Engineering sectors. SYNCNI MAGAZINE 5 Inside this edition 06 DIGITAL DNA 22 INNOVATION Simon Bailie, CEO of Digital DNA, outlines his thoughts Liberty IT’s Tony Marron discusses the innovation on Northern Ireland’s budding technology sector happening right on our doorstep within LIT 09 TALENT 24 STARTUPS Fujitsu NI's Louise Hull discusses the need for emerging The Catalyst Belfast Fintech Hub is home to some of talent to coincide with the ongoing growth of emerging tech Northern Ireland’s most exciting new startups 10 AWARDS 26 BLOCKCHAIN The BCS Northern Ireland Awards are taking place at Rakuten’s Mark McKillion on working with blockchain and Digital DNA the massive innovative scope granted by the technology 12 UX AND EMERGING TECH 28 VIRTUAL REALITY Fathom CEO Gareth Dunlop discusses how UX is the Sync NI’s Brendan Drain had a go at Kainos’ innovative VR cornerstone to making viable emerging tech products experience DragonSlumber, part of the NI Science Festival 14 #BUILTINBELFAST 30 HR AND EMERGING TECH Raj Ramanand, Signifyd CEO and Co-Founder, on Belfast’s Sync NI teamed up with Wiser Working to bring the global industrial past and technological present Disrupt HR event chain to Belfast for the first time in April 16 EMERGING TECH 32 STUDENTS Alan Stock explains how Novosco delivers optimised IT mTech.Academy insights and a successful trip to Mobile managed services for enterprise clients World Congress in February 18 BUSINESS GROWTH 34 EVENTS Bank of Ireland UK supporting innovation and growth at A quick look at technology and business events coming up We Are Vertigo over the next few months 20 BUSINESS GROWTH Ambition, innovation and investment drive growth at Mackle Petfoods 06 12 18 20 22 26 32 6 SYNCNI MAGAZINE NI’s evolving tech scene Simon Bailie, CEO of Digital DNA, outlines his thoughts on Northern Ireland’s budding technology sector. n a world that never stops, is always online, and is further underlined with the commitment from the Ialways connected, it is essential to pump the brakes professional services sector. The largest of the firms here, from time to time and take stock of where you’re going PwC NI, is creating one of the city centre's most innovative and where you’ve come from. digital spaces in its new £70 million HQ – Merchant Square – which will be home to 3,000 people next year. That’s why, at Digital DNA’s eighth annual flagship event in June, it’s important to reflect upon what has been happening The global firm's confidence in the local team is evident with in the local technology scene and how far we’ve come as a PwC's blockchain capabilities being led by the team in Belfast, whole. and it has also recruited for its second year of fully-funded tech degree apprenticeships at QUB. With an approach based Industry stalwarts Kainos and Allstate are prime examples of on innovating through collaboration and design thinking, it’s this. inspiring to see what some perceive as a traditional industry diversify with great success. Kainos, the Queen’s University Belfast spinout turned London Stock Exchange-listed company, has announced its plans to Also investing in its digital offerings is Deloitte, which has develop a new headquarters in Belfast city centre. The firm’s announced its own move to Bedford Square where it will bring chief executive, Brendan Mooney, isn’t just thinking about the together its 1,000 staff. In recent years, technology has been here and now, as he aims to create a space that will permit a key part of its growth plans and it has also launched its own future growth. 8-week tech-focused course at Belfast Metropolitan College. That’s a step that John Healy, Managing Director at Allstate Success notwithstanding, all of the above firms are continuing NI, has already taken. Just last summer, the firm – Northern to pave the way and shine the light in terms of their Ireland’s largest IT company – opened a new £30m office. commitment to ongoing innovation and the advancement of As well as maintaining offices in the northwest, the 140,000 the local technology scene. sq ft building will provide more than enough space for the company’s Belfast-based employees. The work of Invest NI over the last year has been paramount. With outgoing chief executive Alastair Hamilton at the helm, Northern Ireland's reputation as a global technology hub the economic development agency has been relentless in SYNCNI MAGAZINE 7 attracting foreign direct investors within Belfast City Hospital’s Dr Tim Brown For anyone who thought a cycle light the technology sector. Firms such as – undertook a world-first life-saving was exactly that, the See.Sense team is Unosquare and Signifyd have indicated operation with its technology. The team an example of how a traditional product they plan to double their current Belfast has been using machine learning to can be transformed through innovation. workforce from 50 to 100 people and complete complicated and laborious Earlier this year, Irene, the firm’s chief create 150 jobs respectively. Couple medical tasks to create 3D-printable strategy officer, told me how it is no this with the multitude of other firms models for pre-operative planning longer a cycle light company, but rather already in-situ across Northern Ireland from 2D scans, which in turn is helping a data company that is helping to and it’s easy to see the multiplier effect.