Commercial Division

The Commercial Division is one of the three divisions that make up the TSSG, the others being the Research Division and the Operations Division (internal administrative and technical support).

For more information on the TSSG see:

• TSSG A4 FLYER
• TSSG eStrategies Europe overview article (March 2007)

Research & Development

The Commercial Division is structured into a small number of highly focused Product Centres, each with a mix of Enterprise Ireland and EU eTEN funding, focused on bringing a research idea closer to the market, usually through development of a software prototype following an agile software development process with stringent verification and validation processes. The nature of the Product Centres is relatively dynamic compared to the larger integrated Competence Centres in the Research Division, so they are not listed here - see the list of companies, and of the pipeline for new companies, below to see the nature of these product centres.

Companies

The TSSG has developed its commercialisation process to the point where it has successfully created new companies based on commercial ideas originating from its own research (spin-outs) and it has attracted companies to locate some or all of their activity in Waterford with links to the TSSG (spin-ins). To date these companies employ around 60 additional staff, most of whom are based in the south east of Ireland (figure last updated 2009-01-31).

Phase One (2000-2004) [3 companies]

• Waterford Technologies (2000 spin-in) Email archiving and monitoring [incubation].
• ConnectKey.com (2001 spin-out, dissolved 2004) SME Portal and Services [incubation].
• Aceno Mobile Services (2003 spin-out) Now the professional services arm of the TSSG [incubation, SEEPP].

Phase Two (2005-2007) [6 companies]

• Nubiq (2006 spin-out) Mobile website generation with Zinadoo [incubation, SEEPP].
• Akruu (2006 spin-out, dissolved 2008) Out-sourced billing and accounting as a service [incubation].
• hash6 (2007 spin-in, dissolved 2009) Interactive radio stations [incubation, SEEPP].
• MUZU (2007 spin-in) Artists’ on-line TV networks [incubation].
• Headway Software (2007 spin-in) Tools for software development [incubation, SEEPP].
• Zolk C (2007 spin-out) Solutions for heritage sites [incubation].

Phase Three (2008-) [5 companies]

• FeedHenry (2008 spin-out) Fast and comprehensive Web 2.0 services solutions for Media & Telecommunications companies [incubation].
• Visibility Mobile (2008 spin-out) Mobile search engine optimisation (SEO) [incubation].
• GoMoNews (2009 spin-in) Strategic mobile news [incubation].
• IMS-Stream (operating as trade name of Aceno) SIP-based VoIP solutions [incubation, SEEPP].
• Zimbie (operating as trade name of Aceno) Instant Messaging as a platform - easily create IM responders - "IM bots" [incubation, SEEPP].

Note: [incubation] means part of the company was hosted in the TSSG or ArcLabs, [SEEPP] means that one or more of the staff involved was trained via WIT's SEEPP programme.

TSSG in ArcLabs --- support network for regional and national innovation

The TSSG acts as a catalyst for regional enterprise, particularly with new mobile services companies in the south east of Ireland. Since the TSSG was founded in 1996 it has had a mission to prioritise not just research, but the commercialisation of that research, and to achieve results through a direct impact on the regional and national economy.

The SEEPP is a programme to support entrepreneurs in setting up new companies. The programme has supported around 18 participants each year since 1998, and these people have founded 85 start-up companies creating over 300 jobs regionally; 84% of these companies are still in business. The TSSG has been co-located with the SEEPP since the WIT Research & Innovation Centre was opened by the then Tánaiste (Deputy Prime Minister), Mary Harney, in October 2001. When we moved to our new building in WIT's West Campus in 2005, both TSSG and the SEEPP moved together to help found the new ArcLabs Research & Innovation Centre. Many of the SEEPP participants came directly from the TSSG and many more have been attracted to come based on the potential synergies between activities.

ArcLabs is incubating 18 companies at present, and ArcLabs has a history of incubating another 10 companies who have moved out. The TSSG are the core members of the ArcLabs Research & Innovation Centre with 150 of the 200 or so people here being members of the TSSG. The centre was built to combine leading edge R&D (funded by HEA PRTLI Cycle 3 capital budgets) with business incubation (funded by Enterprise Ireland), opening in 2005, with a formal opening in October 2006 by Taoiseach (Prime Minister) Bertie Aherne. We believe that this was the first time that such funding programmes were combined in Ireland, and demonstrates in a substantive way our prioritisation the complex linkages between research and innovation since our foundation.

The TSSG's submission to the Irish Innovation Task Force details our views on the right model for Ireland to adopt to maximise the potential for research and innovation in Ireland. We believe that there are complex non-linear links between a range of different activities that are all required in order to foster successful research and innovation. If you agree we would be happy to work in partnership to continue to innovate and to produce value for the Irish economy.