European Tech Tour Association summit creates new opportunity for start-ups to go global and access venture financing
Press Release Submitted by Jillian Alexander – PR FIRE
GENEVA, November 17, 2010 Today the European Tech Tour Association (ETT) announced its final list of selected companies for the inaugural of the Cloud and ICT 2.0 Summit 2010, to be held on November 17-18, in Lausanne and Geneva, Switzerland. The Summit is a catalyst for the emerging cloud computing industry in Europe, aiming to assist high-growth start-ups to expand throughout the world by introducing them to leading venture capitalists and senior technology industry professionals.
Key gathering of Europes 25 finest innovators, entrepreneurs and IT leaders
From an initial cluster of 234 innovative companies identified in the growing cloud computing industry in Europe, the Selection Committee reviewed the business plans of 85 companies from across 16 countries. Based on these, the Selection Committee invited the CEOs of what it believes to be the 25 most promising and innovative companies to attend the summit and present their vision of the industry and business strategies for growth to an international audience of influential global investors, technology industry leaders, IT service providers, and academics.
The final 25 start-ups are: Aepona, Amalto Technologies, Amplidata, A-Server, Brightpearl, Cloudmore, CloudSigma, Cohesive Flexible Technologies Corporation, hetras, IIKO, Kinamik Data Integrity, Kwaga, , maatG, Nubera (GetApp.com), Racktivity, RunMyProcess, Sandbourne Systems (eSellerPro), SolveDirect Service Management, SQR Technologies, ThinPrint, Tradeshift Network, Twinfield, Visor (AccountsIQ), webdoc and Workbooks Online.
Of the companies presenting, 80 per cent are at a stage where they are seeking financing and/or international partnerships to further fuel expansion and growth, while the other 20 per cent are younger ventures in a seed or start-up phase.
A deeper look at the companies presenting at the Cloud & ICT 2.0 Summit shows a good cross section of Cloud Computing innovation across Europe. Of the final 25 companies six are from UK & Ireland, five from Benelux, five from Central Europe (Germany-Austria-Switzerland), three from Spain, three from France, two from Scandinavia and one from Russia.
There is an equal split between companies from the Software-as-a-Service segment – offering new business applications made possible by the Cloud Computing paradigm change and companies which provide disruptive technologies and innovative services (Infrastructure-as-a-Service, Platform-as-a-Service) to further accelerate the migration from traditional IT to Cloud Computing.
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About the Selection Committee
Led by Robert Lees, partner at Strata Partners, an independent European investment banking firm, the Selection Committee comprised senior investment professionals from 18 leading venture capital firms – Accel Partners, Balderton Capital Management, Bessemer Venture Partners, Big Bang Ventures, Earlybird, Eden Ventures, ELAIA Partners, EndeavourVision, Highland Capital Partners, Index Ventures, Kennet Partners, Nauta Capital, Notion Capital, Partech International, Runa Capital / Almaz Capital Partners, Sofinnova Partners, Target Partners, TIME Equity Partners) – as well as representatives of the Business Angel (EBAN/France Angels), Legal (Morgan Lewis), Private Equity (August Equity), Blogosphere (SaaS LinkedIn Group) and Governmental (Canton de Vaud) communities.
Details of the 25 presenting start-ups
A-Server (www.aserver.com) – Headquarters: Belgium
Aepona (www.aepona.com) – Headquarters: United Kingdom
Amalto Technologies (www.amalto.com) – Headquarters: France
Amplidata (www.amplidata.com) – Headquarters: Belgium
Brightpearl (www.brightpearl.com) – Headquarters: United Kingdom
Cloudmore AB (www.cloudmore.com) – Headquarters: Sweden
CloudSigma (www.cloudsigma.com) – Headquarters: Switzerland
Cohesive Flexible Technologies Corporation (www.CohesiveFT.com) Headquarters: UK
hetras GmbH (www.hetras.com) – Headquarters: Austria
IIKO (www.iiko.ru) – Headquarters: Russia
Kinamik Data Integrity (www.kinamik.com) – Headquarters: Spain
Kwaga (www.kwaga.com) – Headquarters: France
MaatG (www.maatg.com) – Headquarters: Spain
Nubera / GetApp.com (www.getapp.com) – Headquarters: Spain
Racktivity (www.racktivity.com) – Headquarters: Belgium
RunMyProcess (www.runmyprocess.com) -Headquarters: France
Sandbourne Systems Ltd (eSellerpro) (www.esellerpro.com) – Headquarters: United Kingdom
SolveDirect Service Management GmbH (www.solvedirect.com) – Headquarters: Austria
SQR Technologies (www.sqrtech.com) – Headquarters: Belgium
ThinPrint AG (www.thinprint.com) – Headquarters: Germany
Tradeshift Network ltd (www.tradeshift.com) – Headquarters: Denmark
Twinfield (www.twinfield.com) – Headquarters: Netherlands
Visor Ltd. (accountsIQ) (www.accountsIQ.com) – Headquarters: Ireland
Webdoc (www.webdoc.com) – Headquarters: Switzerland
Workbooks Online Ltd (www.workbooks.com) – Headquarters: United Kingdom