Cambridge Consultants Ltd
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| Type | Private (Private company) |
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| Industry | Product and technology development and consultancy |
| Founded | 1960 |
| Headquarters |  Cambridge, England, UK Cambridge, USA |
| Employees | 300 |
| Website | www.cambridgeconsultants.com |
Cambridge Consultants is an international technology development and consultancy company, providing outsourced Research and Development to clients - from start-ups to blue-chip multinationals - who need to develop innovative, technologically novel, breakthrough products. The company also provides business consulting services in the areas of innovation management, market strategy and technical due diligence.
As of mid-2008, the company employs about 300 engineers, scientists, mathematicians, consultants, analysts and support staff in both Cambridge, UK and Cambridge, USA. In addition to their client work, staff at Cambridge Consultants are free to develop their own intellectual property, either for licensing to clients or as the basis for a spin-out business.
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[edit] History
Founded in 1960[1] by two Cambridge graduates – Tim Eiloart [2] and David Southward – to "put the brains of Cambridge University at disposal of the problems of British industry",[3] Cambridge Consultants was one of the UK's first technology transfer businesses. Their early work laid the foundations for what is now known as the Cambridge Phenomenon or Silicon Fen. Indeed, many of the high-tech companies in and around the city of Cambridge can trace their roots back to Cambridge Consultants. Inspired by the service and business model of CCL several engineering and innovation companies like Technology partnership (www.ttp.com), Verhaert Masters in Innovation (www.verhaert.com), Sentec Limited (www.sentec.co.uk) and Sagentia (www.sagentia.com) came to life.
Initially, the company was privately run. However, in January 1972, it became part of Arthur D. Little, the large American management consultancy, gaining professional management support and access to international markets. Cambridge Consultants remained part of Arthur D. Little until 2001. In 2002 the management team at Cambridge Consultants acquired the company, backed by Altran, Europe’s largest technology consultancy.
Despite the early difficulties witnessed by many technology companies at the turn of the millennium, Cambridge Consultants has continued to grow since 2000, and now has a reputation as one of the world’s most innovative product development companies.
[edit] Current business
Cambridge Consultants' work spans a range of different industry sectors, and its structure is designed to mirror these:
The company's Medical Technology Division develops products and technology for drug delivery (respiratory, transdermal, injection, etc), diagnostics (both lab-based and point-of-care devices), and surgical and interventional device manufacturers. The company is also working to develop a new generation of wireless medical products.
The Wireless Division develops chips through to complete products and is active in the majority of wireless technologies available today, including satellite and WiMAX to ZigBee, UWB and NFC. Cambridge Consultants is responsible for many 'world-firsts' in wireless communication, including:
- The first single-chip Bluetooth device, which was spun out to create Cambridge Silicon Radio, now the market leader in Bluetooth chips
- The digital radio used to manage the majority of the US airspace
- The world's first GSM videophone for Orange
- The world's first digital wireless patient monitoring system operating in the WMTS medical frequency band, which the company developed for its client Philips Medical Systems
The Products & Systems division within Cambridge Consultants develops CleanTech, industrial and consumer products, transport technologies, and ASICs and FPGAs. Many ASIC projects use Cambridge Consultants' XAP processor core. The Division also developed the Prism 200, an advanced handheld through-wall radar and the open standard Universal Metering Interface for smart metering.
The Consulting Division at Cambridge Consultants advises companies on market strategy, transaction support and innovation management, especially where complex technology is involved. The Division's consultants and analysts carry out technical and commercial due diligence for clients around the world, and provide Expert Reports for companies listing on the UK stock market. Using a range of bespoke consulting tools, the teams also assist organisations to better manage ideas, and to prepare more effectively for future market scenarios.
[edit] Spin-outs
Cambridge Consultants has created over twenty new ventures in the past twenty-five years, several of which have gone on to achieve listing on the London Stock Exchange, namely Domino, Xaar, Prelude Trust, CSR plc and Vivid (sold to Vectura Group). Other successful spin-offs include Alphamosaic and Inca, who have subsequently been acquired by Broadcom for US$123 million and Dainippon Screen for €43.8 million, respectively. Both sales were achieved within five years of the companies being formed.
In a new approach to venturing, Cambridge Consultants established a joint £10-million joint venture fund with the technology venture capitalist Esprit Capital Partners. The fund will be used to invest exclusively in Cambridge Consultants’ own spin-outs.[1]
[edit] References
[edit] Further reading
- Dale, Rodney (1979) From Ram Yard to Milton Hilton: A History of Cambridge Consultants Ltd, 1960-1979, 36 pp. Cambridge: Cambridge Consultants Ltd
- Dale, Rodney (2010) From Ram Yard to Milton Hilton: Cambridge Consultants - the early years, 120 pp. Haddenham, Cambridgeshire: Fern House Publishing, ISBN 978-1-902702-24-7
[edit] External links
- Cambridge Consultants – Official website
- Cambridge Network – Cambridge Consultants is a founder member of the Cambridge Network and regularly posts news and jobs here
