Irish technology business moves to Birmingham

Capricorn Ventis is a niche business and technology consultancy company that specialises in the area of Customer Relationship Management (CRM) and Business Intelligence (BI). Their approach is very business-driven. One area where Capricorn Ventis thrives is in helping businesses make meaningful use of vast amounts of data that they hold – often so big that plain facts and simple analyses which they really need are hidden from view. Glenn Morrill, the consultancy’s business development director, says: ‘A lot of companies are data rich but information poor: that is, they have access to vast amounts of data but problems in getting it to make commercial sense. What we do is provide systems that give them that ability, meaning that the length of time data analysis projects can take are cut from months or even years to just days and weeks. It’s a very powerful tool that can really take costs out of an organisation. We met one client who told us their IT budget for the year had already been assigned, but was busy writing us a cheque before the meeting was over because they realised how important this capability was.’ Capricorn Ventis works with software groups QlikTech and Oracle to provide business information (BI) and Customer Relations Management (CRM On Demand) solutions. Much of the work it offers is through cloud computing systems, where huge amounts of commercial information is stored off-site and accessed online. Although the business was founded in Ireland the UK operation, based in Birmingham Science Park Aston, already has five staff little more than a year after being set up. Glenn Morrill added: ‘We originally set the UK business up in Leeds, but it quickly became apparent that Birmingham was the right location for the office, both because of its location at the centre of the transport network, and because of the wider ICT infrastructure in the Heart of England, West Midlands region. We see the business growing very quickly, partly as more clients realise the benefits of cloud computing, and also the need not only to have data but to use it in ways that make commercial sense.’ Matthew Hidderley, Business Development Manager at Birmingham Science Park Aston said: ‘We were pleased to attract the technology based business from Ireland to Birmingham as part of the flexible support package for overseas companies looking to locate in Birmingham. Since joining the Park, Capricorn Ventis have capitalised on the support available to them, achieving their high growth plans and are looking forward to the future. A further 8 businesses from Ireland and the Netherlands are travelling to Birmingham today to explore the opportunity to set-up their technology businesses in the region.’ Robbie Beak, International Inward Investment Manager, Advantage West Midlands said: ‘AWM are delighted to welcome Capricorn Ventis to Birmingham. We greatly enjoyed working with them as they investigated the UK market and expanded to the West Midlands. Capricorn Ventis made use of our innovative Bridge To Growth Programme and worked with local business partners including Birmingham Science Park Aston who are providing them with an excellent base and support for their UK HQ.’ Pictured (L-R): Capricorn Ventis team at Birmingham Science Park Aston. Wednesday, 24th February 2010