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Leeds hi-tech firm on the ball in Barcelona
SUPPORTERS of FC Barcelona could soon be relying on a Yorkshire firm to find out about the latest gossip and transfer news surrounding their favourite team.
The Spanish soccer giant is in talks with Leeds-based Txttools about the possibility of using its technology to set up a text message system which can be used to keep fans informed.
Txttools' technology is already enabling schools to tell parents if their child is playing truant.
It also helps to save taxpayers' money by ensuring that patients keep their hospital appointments.
The company, which has 27 staff and turnover of around 2m, is exploiting the "serious" or "business" uses of text messaging.
Since it was founded, in 2001, Txttools has built a system that enables organisations to use text messaging to communicate with large groups of people or individuals.
A university or college can use the system to tell students about looming deadlines or changes to their course.
Teachers can text parents to tell them that the school is closed because of heavy snow, which is a more efficient system than trying to phone them individually.
Clinics can send out a text to remind patients to take their medication and advise about their appointments.
Steve McCann, the managing director of Txttools, which is based in Dock Street, Leeds, said the possible deal with FC Barcelona was part of the company's global expansion.
He said: "We approached them in the first instance. We looked at the text services they were doing and, on the scale of things, we thought they were relatively primitive. We told them that they could do something a lot smarter.
"It's a testament to the fact that we've got some really clever, cutting-edge technology. It's simple to use and it's smart stuff. It is quite amazing that one of the biggest football clubs in the world is considering using a small company based in Yorkshire."
Mr McCann said that 2009 was set to be the company's best year, as it expands into the US and targets new markets, such as publishing, sport and government.
He added: "We're really serious about expanding into the States. We see massive potential there. We've got a number of customers who are very interested. We're at the second stage with them. One is a big school authority in Ohio, and there's a New York state college who are really interested as well. Those discussions are really at a preliminary stage.
"We know we can do some business in the States. That's obviously a huge market. We're also active in Spain and France as well. We've had the main applications translated into Spanish and Catalan."
Mr McCann said the company also hoped to expand into the French-speaking market.
The first set of Txttools' products, which include edutxt, meditxt and txteditor, were launched in 2003.
Today, they are used by hundreds of universities, colleges, schools, clinics and hospitals.
Other big clients include The Financial Times, The International Herald Tribune and Rockwell Automation. These organisations use Txttools to send thousands of text messages each day.
Recent developments include a system which allows email messages to be redirected to a mobile, email or a database, based on content, time or sender.
GETTING THE MESSAGE WITH TEXTING
Most people use text messaging as a simple way of communicating with their friends. With Txttools' technology, users can instantly send a message to a group or individuals from their computer.
They can also schedule a message to go later in the day, week, month or year and track the delivery of the message to the handset.
The company's clients are using the system to distribute information, schedule meetings, send appointment reminders and test results. They can also use it to get customer feedback.
According to Txttools, more than twice as many people use text messages rather than email as their favoured means of communicating.
Worldwide, there are three billion mobile phone users, and 98 per cent of the UK population has a mobile phone capable of sending and receiving text messages.
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