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Forcelink announced as a Winner of the SEEPP Enterprise Awards 2011
Two innovative and exceptional companies were honoured at the SEEPP Enterprise Awards 2011, sponsored by Ulster Bank South East Business Centre and Ernst & Young which was held on May 16th in WIT. The winner of the Start-Up category was Paul Ryan, Forcelink, the Early Stage category winner was Frank Walsh, Grattan Integration Ltd.
The Enterprise Awards acknowledge the contributions made by entrepreneurs to the economic development and progression of the South East region. The judging panel included Brian O’Sullivan, Manager, Ulster Bank South East Business Centre, Dermot Carey, Director, Ernst & Young, Dr. Tom O’ Toole, Head of the School of Business, WIT and was chaired by Louise Grubb, Managing Director, Nutri Science Ltd. SEEPP Manager Eugene Crehan said "The SEEPP finalists all presented their business ideas excellently to the panel of highly experienced judges and I think the finalists benefitted greatly from the feedback given by the judges! The guest speaker on the evening was John Conway, MD, Chevron Training.
Forcelink was the winner of the Start-Up Enterprise category and was founded by Paul Ryan. Paul was VP Sales from 2002-2007 with LeT Systems (an Irish enterprise software vendor and developer of the eRespond outage management system), operating in international markets including SE Asia, South Africa and Central and Eastern Europe with partners including Siemens, SAP and major systems integrators such as IBM and Deloitte. Paul was CEO from 2007-2010 of DIS (2) Ltd., a tourism VAT refund technology company associated with the Blarney Woollen Mills Group, which he sold to Global Refund, the multinational market leader. Paul has 20 years experience of international business development in technology, investment and consulting, in 30+ markets.
According to Paul “we are really excited about bringing Forcelink to more Irish customers. Everyone in business today is looking to do more with less, and the Forcelink mobile work management solution means our customers can get powerful enterprise class software functionality for small money. It’s all about using mobile phones and the internet to know, in real time, the status of people and work to improve customer service and reduce costs. We have saved customers up to 80% in the administration of their field workforce, and gained up to 50% in productivity. We are delighted to have gotten the recognition of the SEEPP Enterprise awards, and look forward to spreading our message of “more with less”! We have some customers working with us on pilots in the South East region at the moment and expect to make more announcements soon.”
SEEPP is a one year enterprise programme that provides a range of supports to innovative start-up businesses in the South East region including business development workshops, incubation space, and mentoring. If you would like to receive the same support that Frank and Paul received please note that SEEPP is currently accepting applications for the next programme which commences in August 2011. For further information contact 051-302953 / 302949 or visit www.seepp.ie
L-R: Eugene Crehan, SEEP; Paul Ryan, Forcelink; Joan McDonald, School of Business, WIT