S3 named Company of the Year at ISA Awards

18 November 2013:   Funding and talent are key to the growth of Ireland’s indigenous technology sector, according to the Irish Software Association (ISA), which held its 35th software industry Awards last Friday in Dublin’s Double Tree Hotel.
The award for Digital Technology Company of the Year went to S3 Group, while Incaplex CEO Sean Baker was named Person of the Year.
S3 Group, which produces software for companies in the digital TV, telehealth and semiconductor industries and employs 150 in Ireland.
Commenting on the win, John O’Brien, S3 Group CEO, said: “Every day, we are trusted by global industry leaders to enable them to deliver compelling new services to their customers in the Digital TV, Telehealth and Semiconductor industries. Since most of the business we do is international, this recognition from our peers in Ireland is hugely appreciated.”
Other award winners on the night were Aspire Technology, CarTrawler, Fenergo, Mobile Aware and Openet.
Announcing the winners Edel Creely, ISA chair and Trilogy Technologies MD, said the innovation, hard work and leadership of Irish small and medium sized software companies is an important contributor to Ireland’s economic recovery.
“Our future as an industry is all about international scaling, exporting and creating jobs in Ireland and this is what companies represented by ISA are doing,” said Creely in a speech at the event.
“SMEs are the backbone of the economy and can provide great stability for Ireland in terms of job creation. However, to ensure we can continue to scale we need enablement for growth and the elimination of all barriers to success which includes greater access to finance for expansion and talent to drive growth.
“Mid-stage technology companies, in particular, find it very difficult to access funding from traditional sources to scale globally. The quarterly ISA Digital Technology Index, conducted among 728 Irish CEOs and founders, found that access to finance remains a problem for over one-third of Irish software and digital technology companies. Equally, the survey found that 51% say sourcing talent is a challenge.
“Tackling the funding for growth challenge for our sector is an ongoing one and we continue to foster dialogue with the pillar banks and VC communities.
“We must also continue to encourage private investment in our industry, and while we welcome the recent announcement regarding entrepreneurial relief on capital gains tax for business start-ups, the outlined proposal doesn’t go far enough. It must be less restrictive, be actively marketed to incentivise entrepreneurialism and ensure we keep investment here rather than losing it to neighbouring economies.”
Category winners:
ISA Digital Technology Company of the Year                        S3 Group
Excellence in Talent Development                                       Openet
Outstanding Academic Achievement of the Year                   Dr Mark Davis, DIT
Digital Technology Services Project of the Year                     MobileAware
Multinational Corporation Initiative of the Year                       Google Ireland
Technology Innovation of the Year                                        Fenergo
Outstanding Achievement in International Growth                  CarTrawler
Emerging Company of the Year                                           Aspire Technology
ISA Person of the Year                                                       Sean Baker
 
See article on TechCentral: http://www.techcentral.ie/s3-named-company-of-the-year-at-isa-awards/#ixzz2l0IhX4Y0