2 Nov 2012

What happened at the ICT KTN Competition Event, 29th October 2012


On Monday 29th October, we held the final of the annual ICT KTN competition for a place on the UKTI stand at Mobile World Congress, in Barcelona February 2013.

Each of the 10 finalists had 3 minutes to present, without the aid of powerpoint.  A barrage of questions from the audience and judging panel followed each presentation; the audience got to show their votes to the panel; a lovely buffet followed with the winners announced at the end of the night on a full stomach!
Illustrious judging panel - "Hello Jo!"

The pitches came from many different areas including mHealth, Open-source optimisation, App Discoverability, Theft recovery, Authentication & Security, Augmented Reality Platform and deeply technical HLR functionality.

Now on to the winners, what they do and what they had to say about the event: 

51degrees.mobi - http://www.51degrees.mobi

“We were impressed, but not surprised, by the quality of the competitor pitches.  Winning  the stand space with UKTI provides a great springboard to raise awareness of our mobile device detection tools, and enables us to meet our global customers and prospects in a single location” 
James Rosewell, Founder & CEO


Wonder where they are from?!

51Degrees.mobi was founded in 2009 to provide server-side device detection and web optimisation solutions enabling web sites of all sizes to easily create a mobile presence.  Our open source products provide an easy to implement method to improve usability and performance of web content served to mobile devices.  Our data file contains thousands of devices, including games consoles, TVs, eBook readers, tablets, smart phones and feature phones. Each device is mapped to a wide range of relevant properties including physical screen size and input methods to operating system, web browser and hardware model.   Over 244,000 servers use our tools for over 500,000,000 device detections each month.  We’re a global business with 89% of web sites using our product based outside the UK, 61% from North America and 14% from Europe.


PixelPin - http://pixelpin.co.uk

"The Mobile Monday London community was a great platform to pitch PixelPin for the competition. Winning a place to MWC is awesome and has come at precisely the right time to start to get the PixelPin message out globally. A big thank you to all involved". 
Brian Taylor, Founder, (& participant at The Mobile Academy!)


Sarah and Brian, post pitch-happy!

People remember images better than words. Scientists call it the Picture Superiority Effect (PSE).PixelPin uses PSE so you never have to remember a password again. Weak passwords expose the user to the risk of fraud whilst complex ones put them off using the service. PixelPin is more secure than PINs and passwords, eliminates phishing and encourages users to return. There are real advantages when you use a no-keyboard mobile/smart device as it’s a lot quicker to login than with alphanumeric passwords and makes the authentication process very quick and easy for users. PixelPin is a unique product that allows users to authenticate themselves securely without the need for additional hardware or accept the risks of using biometrics, without the associated privacy and storage costs of these technologies. PixelPin’s mission is to bring a new breed of authentication products to market that are easy to use, memorable, secure and accessible to all.


Aseptika - http://activ8ourlives.com

Kevin - addressing a noble user need
“We are excited at having been selected in this Dragon's den type contest and with the audience participating on the voting. This was a great opportunity to showcase our new cross platform Food Diary app. Being able to have a presence at a show ljke WMC2013 and with pre- and post-support from UKTI will be a huge boost for us.  We are hoping to meet leaders who will design strategies for future healthcare pathways and meet potential EU partners who can work with us in a consortium to create the next generation of solutions.”   
Kevin Auton, Founder

We provide a series of solutions to empower us to be active, stay healthy and keep well.  We self monitor using different low cost devices and by viewing our own information we gradually begin to change our behaviours.  This is re-enforced by working together in groups and communities. We work primarily at the level of the whole family.  We are focused on being active and achieving a healthy weight and in the support to those with long term conditions such as Cystic Fibrosis, COPD, diabetes, heart disease and those who have suffered stokes and are trying to stay well in the home environment.


MagicSolver - http://magicsolver.com

Emmanuel Carraud tells us how excited he is to be going to Barcelona and you can read his blog here: http://www.magicsolver.com/blog/



MagicSolver provides a practical solution to a real issue for mobile users - namely how to discover and download the best apps for free on the app stores from one trusted source. MagicSolver offers app developers unique visibility and downloads for their apps. A spin out from Cambridge University, the business has global reach, with over 10 million users in 120 countries and 80% of its turnover coming from overseas.
All the Winners! MagicSolver are 2nd from left.

And finally - 

Thanks to the ICT KTN for promoting the event, to Stuart Revell and Simon Carter for facilitating and leading the judging panel respectively, to our audience for fab questions and casting their votes and as always, thanks to our annual sponsors, Samsung and Blackberry.

Big congratulations to the winners - see you in Barcelona!