KeyedIn beats rivals to major deal

SOFTWARE systems specialist KeyedIn Solutions beat international rivals to a significant technology acquisition in Europe, the UK managing director has revealed.

James Waterhouse said his company overcame competition from major European investors and a US software giant to buy the company, which has developed technology that he compared to “the equivalent of IT alchemy”.

KeyedIn, which has its UK office in Ilkley, helps businesses manage projects more effectively through its cloud-based software services.

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Its new acquisition will allow business users to quickly develop tailor-made applications through the internet.

Mr Waterhouse told the Yorkshire Post: “It’s the next level. It’s something that a lot of businesses have talked about but struggled to make work. It’s incredibly exciting.”

Cloud computing allows users to access resources at a fraction of the cost by buying “software as a service”. The acquired technology promises to offer “platform as a service”.

Full details of the acquisition are expected in the coming weeks, alongside a new product announcement with the new technology at its heart.

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Mr Waterhouse was speaking in an interview to mark the first year in the life of KeyedIn Solutions, a US tech start-up based in Minnesota.

The company was founded by executives from the enterprise resource planning industry, which allows businesses to integrate internal and external management information across organisations.

KeyedIn acquired Minneapolis-based enterprise resource planning specialist Datacom International in January. It bought Cleckheaton-based project management specialist Atlantic Global a month later for £4.9m.

Alongside its development and administrative operations in Cleckheaton and Ilkley, KeyedIn has a presence in nine US cities, Latin America, Scandinavia and Africa.

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Mr Waterhouse said the company has created 50 jobs around the world and now has a dozen employees in Yorkshire.

He claimed the business is experiencing near 100 per cent quarter on quarter growth and winning work in new markets in the outsourcing, offshoring and recruitment sectors.

He would not discuss precise financial figures.

KeyedIn sells software services to chief technology officers and project managers in industries including financial services, pharma and aerospace. Customers number Friends Life, Diligenta and Guiseley-based Easypay Services. KeyedIn also sells consultancy services to help companies achieve the best return on their IT investment.

Mr Waterhouse said he is building relationships with investment companies in the UK and the US and identifying more potential acquisition targets.

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He spoke about the key cultural differences between the UK and the US, where KeyedIn was founded by the team that developed and sold a technology business called Epicor for nearly $1bn.

In America, he said a large framework exists to support the growth of start-ups from the outset. Typically, a developer who has a great idea can create a business plan and execute a sales and marketing plan with the full support of funders.

“In the UK, there is funding, particularly at the second and third stage, but the UK has a challenge with early stage funding,” he said.

“The real difficulty is how to get from zero to first couple of hundred thousand. In Silicon Valley, you are surrounded by software businesses and the talent pool is great and funding access is superb.

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“There is no shortage of imagination in the UK and no shortage of ideas.

“But it’s a really tough place to take an idea to a viable business that has enough scale to attract venture capital or private equity.”

KeyedIn writes its own software in Cleckheaton, Ireland and the US.

It hires space in data centres and partners with Opsource, the Californian cloud and managed services hosting company.

Inspired by Star Wars

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JAMES Waterhouse first realised the power of technology sitting in the cinema with his grandfather watching Star Wars.

Producer George Lucas developed state-of-the-art audio technologies to put the viewer at the heart of the action.

Mr Waterhouse said today’s developers like Apple are simplifying and demystifying technology and putting it in the hands of consumers.

“Through products like iPads and iPhones we have moved away from heavyweight technology that requires a large amount of knowledge to operate,” he said.

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“That’s a really positive thing. It really underpins the software-as-a-service industry.”

Another big change in today’s world relates to increasing connectivity.

“You cannot have systems that stand alone,” said Mr Waterhouse. “You have to be able to communicate.”

Social computing has fundamentally changed the way that people communicate with each other, he added. They know where their friends are, what they are doing and how to find them.

Applying this to business will improve the number of successful projects, said Mr Waterhouse.

“Social has a part to play here,” he said.