Unum, the UK’s leading disability insurer based in Basingstoke, has won the Group Income Protection Provider award for an unprecedented tenth consecutive year at the Health Insurance Awards 2007. The award was announced at a gala ceremony held at Grosvenor House on London’s Park Lane. The providers have all been voted upon by Health Insurance readers and the results were audited by Deloitte.

Susan Ring (pictured), Chief Executive Officer of Unum, said:

We are delighted that intermediaries and our customers have once again voted us the best provider in this category. To win the award ten years running is a great accolade and testament to our dedicated team of staff. It is a particular honour as no other provider has ever won an award for 10 successive years since the inception of the awards.

Unum has introduced a number of new GIP related products and services to the market this year, such as enhanced claims management procedures, the Workmatters ‘Absence Tracker’ workplace attendance management solution, increased free cover level and generally much more flexibility and choice. Unum will continue to dedicate itself to working together with intermediaries to grow the market, bring this valuable cover to more customers to help in closing the protection gap for both employers and their staff.

Unum was also highly commended in the individual income protection category.

Great news for Basingstoke Law Firm, Clarke & Son, recently achieving re-accreditation for the Investors in People quality mark.It was particularly challenging on this occasion due to the fact that the standard has been raised. The firm has been recognised as Investors in People since 1999 and has been successfully re-assessed on three previous occasions since, in 2000, 2002 and 2004.

Partner Nick Bowers says

We are extremely proud of this achievement since it represents a purely voluntary standard and demonstrates our commitment to training and developing our staff.

DICOM Group plc, a global leader of Intelligent Capture & Exchange solutions based in Basingstoke, announced that it has been recognised by Document Manager, a leading publication in the document and content management industry, as part of its annual DM Awards 2007, which seek to honour companies at the forefront of the market and give industry-wide recognition to the leading technology, tools, solutions and products.

It’s a great honour for DICOM to be recognised by the readers of Document Manager, which represent the industry-at-large,

said Andrew Pery, VP of marketing, DICOM Group.

We continue to hear positive feedback from our partners and customers regarding our strategy with Intelligent Capture & Exchange, which has positioned to adapt to an evolving market and to address the industry’s most challenging capture needs.

The DM Awards Program is largely influenced by reader votes. DICOM was recognised with an ‘Editor’s Choice Award’ for its Document Scan Server, a key element of Intelligent Capture & Exchange, which serves as the centerpiece of DICOM’s strategy to help organisations streamline business processes by capturing documents in the front office, where they originate, and moving such information in real time to transactional business processes. Pery added:

2007 has been an exciting year for DICOM and we look forward to continued success from Intelligent Capture & Exchange throughout 2008, This award is further proof that DICOM is cementing its leadership position in the software capture market.

Scott Wilson Group plc, the Basingstoke based international consultancy offering integrated professional services in the transportation, property, environment and natural resources sectors, is pleased to announce a major new contract with Network Rail for the detailed design of the Airdrie-Bathgate Rail Link. Scott Wilson has already been heavily involved with this Transport Scotland funded project for more than a year, having been initially commissioned in September 2006, to draw up outline designs for the route.

The value of the new contract to Scott Wilson is expected to be up to £10.6 million over the next 12 months. The role of Main Works Designer includes the provision of structural, geotechnical, station, track and depot design services.

Geoff French, Scott Wilson Group Chairman, comments,

We are very happy to have secured this prestigious work which, once again, reflects our reputation for delivering high profile rail projects. It also strengthens our position as leader in the Scottish rail market. We look forward to working with Network Rail to successfully deliver this project.

Cobalt Telephone Technologies based on Wade Road in Basingstoke has recently celebrated 10 years of successful trading.

The company which formally opened its doors to business on the 15th October 1997 was founded with a clear commitment to offer its customers the very best in automated transaction handling. Early customers included the National Refrigeration Company and Lloyds UDT, the leading UK motor finance house.

West Ham United FC and latterly Manchester United FC were both important customers for Cobalt’s transaction handling expertise. The contract with the latter, signed in the year in which they won the treble and which continues today, marked a major turning point in the fortunes of the company.

Subsequent focus on the UK’s fast growing parking market has been key to more recent growth. Constant expansion of the company’s hosted services has taken place in each of the years since 2001 and cumulatively Cobalt has now processed almost £200m of parking transactions on behalf of local government parking authorities.

Today, its customer base for parking related services includes over a third of all London Boroughs, the Cities of Edinburgh and Birmingham and the whole of Northern Ireland. Turnover and profitability continues to rise at a pleasing pace with both on target to have increased by 35%, when compared with 2006, by the close of 2007. The company remains wholly privately owned.

This tenth anniversary is a significant milestone. The Board of Directors took the opportunity to thank the many customers past and present who have placed their faith in Cobalt and in doing so have contributed to its success. The company remains pledged to continue to offer transaction handling services of the highest standard as it continues to trade, delight and grow.

The first in the 2007/08 programme of MATISSE Smarter-Working Knowledge Exchange Workshops examines the subject of voice, video and web conferencing.Environmental concerns, the threat of terrorism, biosecurity considerations, road congestion, public transport unreliability and pressure on employee productivity are but part of a growing set of dynamics that makes business travel increasingly unattractive and increased reliance on electronic meeting tools like audio, video and web conferencing essential … and inevitable.

By attending this workshop delegates will learn:

• About the various conferencing tools and solutions available
• The typical benefits (travel and time saving) and the typical costs associated with implementation and use
• The questions to ask potential suppliers
• How to put together a convincing business case for adoption as part of a Smarter-Working strategy

The workshop will be of particular benefit to anyone charged with investigating or implementing more cost effective communication methods as part of an overall move to Smarter-Working.

The main presentation will be given by Jocelyn Lomer and Candice Muir from MATISSE Programme Partners Datacom.

The seminar will take place at Committee Room One, Basingstoke & Deane Borough Council Offices in Basingstoke on Thursday 15 Nov 2007 - 9.45 til 2.00 pm.

For more information, or to book online, visit the eHampshire website.

How to get critical investment for your business

A full day introductory course on venture capital for anyone wishing to understand its principles and application.
It will include such topics as:

• The use of venture capital as a form of financing for companies
• Types of venture capital
• Principal documents within a venture capital transaction

Target Attendees

The course is suitable for anyone considering raising venture capital to support their business needs. The course would also be of value to anyone who intends to advise on such investment.

Thursday the 15th of November 2007
9.00am – 5.30pm
Oakley Hall, Basingstoke
Delegate Fee £100 + VAT per delegate

For further details or to book your place please visit www.enterpriseevents.org

Scott Wilson Group plc, the international consultancy offering integrated professional services in the transportation, property, environment and natural resources sectors, today issues a pre-close statement prior to the announcement of its interim results for the 26 weeks ending 28 October 2007, due to be announced on 12 December 2007.

During the period, the Group has continued to make strong progress. This has been driven by ongoing high levels of demand in all our main market sectors together with the benefits of recent acquisitions. We have also achieved further improvements to operating margins, in particular in the International Division.

The major new project wins secured in the first half of the year have maintained our order book at record levels and will help to sustain strong organic growth in line with our strategic plan.

The two acquisitions made in the first half, DCL Consulting Engineers Ltd and McLay Collier continue to perform in line with internal forecasts.

The Board is, therefore, confident of reporting interim results consistent with current market expectations for the full year.

DICOM Group, a global leader of Intelligent Capture & Exchange solutions based in Basingstoke, today announced its inclusion on the Software Magazine’s Software 500 ranking of the world’s largest software and service providers, now in its 25th year. This year, DICOM cracked the top 100 and ranked at 96.

DICOM’s inclusion in the 2007 Software 500 validates our position as a leader in the global information capture market,

said Rob Klatell, chief executive officer of DICOM Group.

The launch of Kofax Intelligent Capture & Exchange this past year has resonated well throughout the industry, and we have continued to receive recognition for the ability of our solutions to help organisations streamline business processes.

The Software 500 is a revenue-based ranking of the world’s largest software and services suppliers targeting medium to large enterprises, their IT professionals, software developers and business managers involved in software and services purchasing.

The Software 500 helps CIOs, senior IT managers and IT staff research and create the short list of business partners,

said John P. Desmond, editor of Software Magazine and Softwaremag.com.

It is a quick reference of vendor viability. The software industry continues to be dynamic with more than 98 new companies on the list this year for the first time.

The ranking is based on total worldwide software and services revenue for 2006. This includes revenues from software licenses, maintenance and support, training and software-related services and consulting. The financial information was gathered by a survey prepared by King Content Co. and posted at www.Softwaremag.com, as well as from public documents.

Magellan packaging have recently launch their metal packaging range which has really taken off. Damian Hessian, Managing Director said:

We are very excited about this innovative range; its uniqueness has the ability to literally WOW clients. Metal provides a smart, contemporary and long lasting impression that will add value to your product

Metal packaging has many distinctive characteristics, clients can choose from brushed or gloss finishing, which they can then screen or litho print, add embossing or die-cut windows. To finish it off there is the ability to add handles, hinges and magnetic openings. You can also combine the metal with other materials to create whole new look. A popular style is the display boxes which combines both colourful leatherette and foam inner. These can then be used to hold CDs, brochures and perhaps a promotional gift.

Georgina Pearce, Marketing Manager, explains:

It’s all about getting your packaging to stand out, first impressions count and to achieve this you need to be different. There are so many possibilities to customise metal packaging that it instantly gives you a high impact, high valued finished product

Metal packaging is so versatile it can be used for multi-media, product launches, binders, promotional gifts or it can even be used to package luxury goods like beauty treatments or perfumes. For more information about metal or bespoke packaging please visit the Magellan packaging website or call 01256 681100 for a quotation.