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Kainos Software Limited
Company typePrivate
IndustryComputer software
IT services
IT consulting
FoundedBelfast, Northern Ireland (14 April 1986)[1]
FounderJohn Lillywhite, Frank Graham, Phillippa Jane Burness, Brian Baird, Edward Cartin, Alan Gilmore, Ronald David Kells[1]
HeadquartersKainos House, Upper Crescent, Belfast, Northern Ireland
Key people
  • John Lillywhite (Chairman)[2]
  • Brendan Mooney (CEO)[3]
Products
RevenueIncrease £30 million (2012/13)[4]
Number of employees
500+ (2013)
Websitewww.kainos.com
File:Kainos Belfast Office.png
Outside Kainos's headquarters in Belfast.

Kainos Software Limited is a privately held software company headquartered in Belfast, Northern Ireland that designs and implements IT solutions and integrates disparate technology systems together, as well as providing consulting and support services in the areas of IT strategy, business-case development, technology sourcing, and document and records management using portal, mobile, and cloud technologies.[5][6][7] The word Kainos comes from Ancient Greek and stands for "new in quality (innovation), fresh in development or opportunity".[8] Today, Kainos is one of Northern Ireland's largest indigenous high-tech companies,[9][10] and is one of the top companies in the UK and Ireland.[11][12]

Kainos has hundreds of global customers, and includes organisations across the public sector, healthcare and financial services markets; three core markets that Kainos particularly target.[13] Some examples include Fujitsu, G4S, HP, KBC, a large number of NHS trusts, Northgate, eircom, NSPCC, SSE, Syniverse and many others.[14] The company currently operates in Europe, the Middle East and Africa,[15] and most recently North America.[16] Kainos is based in several office locations, including Belfast, Derry, London and Glasgow in the United Kingdom, Dublin in Ireland, Gdansk in Poland and San Jose in California, U.S.[17][18][19][20]

History

1986 to 2010

File:Inside Kainos Gdansk Office.jpg
Inside Kainos's offices in Gdansk.

Kainos was founded and established as a joint venture between Fujitsu and The Queen's University of Belfast business incubation unit (QUBIS) on 14 April 1986,[21][22] where its Belfast offices were opened in Upper Crescent and Mount Charles,[1][23] and became one of Northern Ireland's first campus companies.

In 1993, Kainos developed the Microsoft-based Meridio product, which was enterprise document and records management (EDRM) software.[24]

In 1994, Lagan Technologies was established by an ex-Kainos manager and colleagues, and grew to become a leading software supplier into local government in the UK and the U.S., which was eventually acquired by U.S. based Kana Software in 2010.[25]

In 1998, Kainos opened an office in Dublin.

In 2000, Brendan Mooney was appointed CEO of Kainos.[3] The company sold most of its stake to ACT Venture capital, who later divested its shareholding.[26][27]

In 2001, Kainos launched Meridio as a spin-off, by splitting the division off as a separate company.[28] Kainos established a joint venture with InHouse Publications called Property News, one of the largest property portal sites in the UK and Ireland.[29]

In 2004, Kainos entered into a partnership agreement with Mediasurface, the UK’s largest content management provider.[30]

The following year, in 2005, Kainos entered into another partnership agreement with TIBCO, a provider of infrastructure software.[31] Also, Kainos developed an award-winning customer services line named '1901' for eircom, which today is the largest reference site in Ireland for the commercial application of speech technology.[32]

In 2007, Kainos opened an office in London.[33][34] SpeechStorm, a wholly owned subsidiary of Kainos, was launched, providing automated products for call centres, including touch tone, SMS, speech and visual IVR.[35][36] Meridio was sold and acquired by HP's Autonomy to become Autonomy Records Manager, a records management product.[37][38] Management in Kainos bought out Fujitsu’s remaining 20% shares.[26]

In 2008, Kainos opened an office in Gdansk.[39]

In 2009, Kainos had a partnership with Kofax, a leading provider of smart process applications, after being selected by six UK councils to be their IT services partner to deliver electronic document and records management projects.[40]

In 2010, Kainos opened a research office in Silicon Valley.[16]

2011 to present

File:Kainos Derry Office.png
Kainos's office in Derry.

In 2011, Kainos launched AppCamp.[41] Kainos was chosen to take part in a healthcare technology research programme, known as "VERVE", which uses virtual reality and avatars to help vulnerable patients cope with neurological disorders including Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s. The €5 million EC-funded ICT project is coordinated by Trinity College Dublin, and includes partners in healthcare and academia in France, the United Kingdom, Italy, Spain and Germany.[42][43]

In 2012, Kainos opened an office in Derry.[44][45] Kainos became a corporate member of the ECHAlliance.[46]

In 2013, a new research and development centre was built next to Kainos's Gdansk office.[47] Kainos launched a scheme called "Earn as you Learn", which allows students to earn a living and develop real-world expertise and experience as trainee software engineers, while studying part-time for a degree which Kainos also funds.[48]

Today, Kainos works with various strategic technology partners, including Microsoft,[49] Autonomy[50] and Workday,[51] and previously worked with IBM and Genesys.[7]

Kainos has been a Microsoft Gold Partner for more than 10 years, and was one of their first Gold partners, having an understanding and footprint of leveraging Microsoft technologies to help its customers achieve their business goals.

Kainos has a long-standing partnership with Autonomy and a team of Autonomy technology specialists across its business. Together Kainos and Autonomy have delivered a significant number of projects to organisations in Europe and Africa.

Kainos has been a Workday partner since 2011, and with over 50 specialists trained in Workday integration, is one of Workday’s main integration partners in Europe.[49]

Services

Systems Integration

Systems integration is the process of linking together different computing systems and software applications physically or functionally, to act as a coordinated whole. For over 25 years, Kainos's core business has been delivering joined-up systems, connecting processes and integrating reliable data to resolve the complex linkages between IT systems.[52]

Enterprise Content Management

Enterprise content management (ECM) is a formalised means of organising and storing an organisation's documents, and other content, that relate to the organisation's processes. Kainos develop system consolidation and migration strategies, harness open source technologies, introduce portal and mobile interfaces to existing systems, and manage the transition to cloud-based solutions and services. Most challenges can include eliminating paper, introduce easy search-ability to unstructured content, boost remote collaboration or accelerate business processes. Bottlenecks can lead to a breakdown in business, which is why these issues need addressed directly through applied systems integration and the application of powerful software solutions.[53]

Application Management

Application Management is a continuous process of managing the life of an application through governance, development and maintenance. Specialist services are required to relieve organisations' IT departments from the day-to-day demands of maintaining their existing software applications. Kainos run and optimise enterprise and departmental web sites and intranets, as well as custom-built and off-the-shelf business applications, including legacy applications[54]

Cloud Integration

Cloud integration is the business of plumbing cloud computing components into an organisation, which extends Kainos's systems integration service. Kainos allow businesses to test out new ventures with minimal risk, vary IT capacity to suit changing demands, or provide more remote access to applications or data. This is achieved by moving operations or applications into the cloud, determining the optimum solution to a business's requirements, and ensuring a smooth transition.[55]

Mobile Computing

Mobile computing is the ability to use computing capability without a pre-defined location and connection to a network to publish and subscribe to information. Kainos provides integration services and information delivery solutions to allow businesses to mobilise their applications and information assets, via a mobile web portal or an optimised mobile interface. By providing connectivity on any device, business's staff members can perform their jobs from anywhere.[56]

Other services

Kainos offers a comprehensive range of IT services and combines near-shore facilities in Northern Ireland with local account management in London.[57]

Products

Evolve

File:Evolve logo.jpg
Evolve logo

Developed using Kainos's techniques and services and Autonomy's records management technologies,[58] Evolve is the main product in Kainos's suite of healthcare products, which automate the creation, capture and handling of medical case notes and operational documents and records, by enabling a transition to EPR through a range of services.

The Evolve EMR is being used across a range of UK Trusts, including Ipswich Hospital NHS Trust, West Suffolk Hospital NHS Trust, Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust and Clatterbridge Centre for Oncology NHS Foundation Trust.[59][60]

Smart

File:Kainos Smart logo.png
Smart logo

Smart (Scalable, Measurable, Automated, Repeatable, Testing) is Kainos's cloud-based automated testing tool for Workday implementations. It was developed to encompass all of the core HCM business process areas as well as integration, payroll processing and reports, making testing a simpler, easier and less resource-intensive process.

Kainos is currently in a partnership with Workday, a cloud-based, financial and human capital management software company, and is their largest QA testing partner and a Workday Rising Gold Sponsor. Kainos have a team of consultants that provide services to clients in the U.S. and Europe, who have a large insight into the Workday technology and use the same tools and technologies.[61][62]

Events

AppCamp

File:Kainos AppCamp logo.jpg
AppCamp logo

Kainos released AppCamp in 2011,[63] and since then has been running separate app camps in Belfast, London and Gdansk for eight weeks every year during the summer. It is an opportunity for young developers and entrepreneurs to learn how to create applications for iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad devices in a structured and supportive environment.[64]

During the app camp, successful applicants learn how to program in Objective-C, how an Apple application is designed and structured, how to use the XCode development environment and how to deploy apps to the App Store.[64][65] Applicants who are studying degrees with a graphic design component have the opportunity to work alongside the developers as graphic designers to help design their apps.[66]

There are two parts to AppCamp. First, there is a two-week training course on app development, and every camper is given the opportunity to pitch their app idea to a panel, which is very similar to the style of Dragon’s Den. Finally, six campers with the best app ideas are chosen and brought into one of Kainos's offices for six weeks to help them develop their apps. Once each camper's app is complete, they are released to Apple's App Store for free. After a period of three months, each app is judged on performance, number of downloads and written reviews, and the camper with the best app overall in those categories wins a prize.[64]

CodeCamp

CodeCamp logo

Kainos, in association with Belfast Metropolitan College, ran a joint initiative for two weeks over the summer in 2013 called CodeCamp. The aim of CodeCamp was to give teenagers a real-life view into the world of software development, and improve the nation’s digital skills while inspiring young people to pursue a career in IT. The attendees use tools such as MIT’s App Inventor to create their own mobile applications for the Android operating system and Paint.NET to produce their application graphics.

At the end of the two-week training and app building period, each attendee's app is reviewed by a judging panel. Selected attendees are required to create a short presentation for the panel on their app and, in a similar style to Dragon’s Den, present their solution for judging. Prizes are awarded to the best apps in selected categories.[67]

Health Hack

Health Hack is an opportunity for healthcare and technology professionals to work together, in an informal and non-commercial environment, creating applications and platforms to improve local healthcare (and further afield). Its key partners are Kainos and EMC Corporation. The event was first run in December 2012 in Belfast, and most recently in June 2013 in Dublin.

It is based on the concept of a hackathon, which is an event where people involved in software development collaborate intensively on a software project and quickly take ideas to a working prototype. By emphasizing hands-on work on small projects that can be tackled in a short period of time, assumptions can be quickly tested, teams can be built, and momentum can be generated for promising ideas in healthcare.[68][69]

Code4Derry

The Code4Derry initiative was a programme run by Kainos to match IT students and graduates up with local government to promote better access to and improve services. It was based on the Code for America programme. Ten students were involved with the programme, lasting up to eight weeks during the summer in 2012, and brought business, government and educational establishments together to solve real issues within a council environment.

Derry was being awarded the City of Culture 2013, which allowed the students to create IT solutions that could be used to help address problems associated with related events in Derry. Derry City Council gained the benefit of access to accomplished students who could help the Council understand the potential of technology today and implement useful applications.[70][71]

Awards and recognition

The company has won many industry awards at both corporate and customer level.[7]

Year Award
2013 'Large Company of the Year’ at the Aer Lingus Viscount Awards.[72]
Number 55 in the Sunday Times 100 Best Companies to Work For 2013.[11]
Kainos Software Limited given accreditation in the Sunday Times 100 Best Companies (3rd year in a row).[73]
Kainos in the top 5% of organisations in the Microsoft Partner Network.[citation needed]
2012 Kainos Evolve wins Enterprise CMS of the Year at the 2012 DM Awards.[74]
Finalist in 2012 DM Awards, for Company and Software Product of the Year.[75]
Gold Standard Accolade at Deloitte Best Managed Companies Awards for one of the UK and Ireland's best managed companies.[12]
Kainos Software Limited given accreditation in the Sunday Times 100 Best Companies (2nd year in a row).[76]
2011 Winning the "Best Public Sector Project Award" at the 2011 Document Management Awards.[77]
Star Status for Kainos (one of the best employers in the UK).[78]
Kainos Wins Deloitte Best Managed Company Award (Third Year Running).[79]
Kainos Software Limited given accreditation in the Sunday Times 100 Best Companies.[80]
2010 Deloitte Best Managed Company Award (Second Year Running).[81]
Kainos shortlisted for the Irish Technology Leadership Group Innovation Awards in California.[82]
2009 Named as one of Ireland’s Best Managed Companies in the Deloitte Best Managed Companies Awards.[83]
2008 ICT Award for Sales Professional of the Year.[84]
Shortlisted for the ICT Excellence Awards for the category of "Best IT Company to Work For".[85]
Kainos wins strategic SharePoint 2010 EDRM project at Northern Ireland Tourist Board.[86]
2007 Second place in Belfast Business Awards for Best Business Growth.[87]
Irish Contact Centre Awards, with customer Permanent TSB.[citation needed]
2006 Most effective use of software, with customer Hibernian.[88]
2005 Kainos achieves Gold Certification from Microsoft, and since then has been a Microsoft Gold Partner.[89]
2001 Awarded top honours for its work on propertynews.com at IM Awards.[29]

References

  1. ^ a b c Duedil - About Kainos Software Limited
  2. ^ John Lillywhite - Bloomberg Businessweek profile
  3. ^ a b Brendan Mooney - Kainos profile
  4. ^ Kainos harnesses three engines for growth
  5. ^ Short description of Kainos
  6. ^ Company profile on Kainos - ZoomInfo
  7. ^ a b c ECM solutions - About Kainos
  8. ^ Meaning of Kainos
  9. ^ Kainos - Kainos is one of Northern Ireland’s largest locally owned, high-tech companies
  10. ^ Belfast Telegraph - Kainos grown to become one of Northern Ireland’s largest indigenous high-tech companies.
  11. ^ a b "Kainos announced one of the Sunday Times 100 Best Companies to Work For 2013".
  12. ^ a b "Deloitte Best Managed Companies Awards 2012".
  13. ^ Markets which Kainos operate in
  14. ^ Selection of Kainos's customers
  15. ^ Colligo Partner Program - Kainos Software Ltd Case Study
  16. ^ a b Kainos expands into the North American Market
  17. ^ Kainos's main office locations
  18. ^ Irish Technology Leadership Group Magazine - Kainos currently growing in the U.S.
  19. ^ Company profile on Kainos
  20. ^ Office locations overview - businessweek.com
  21. ^ History of QUBIS Ltd spin out company Kainos Software Ltd
  22. ^ Joint venture between Fujitsu and QUBIS
  23. ^ Kainos Case Study - "Kainos have two office buildings in Belfast"
  24. ^ Kainos developed the Microsoft-based Meridio product
  25. ^ The Belfast Telegraph - Kainos IT firm eyes up Europe and the US
  26. ^ a b Award wins, spin-off companies and global success for Kainos
  27. ^ Kainos Portfolio
  28. ^ Meridio - A seperate division of Kainos
  29. ^ a b Joint venture - Property News
  30. ^ Mediasurface announces new partner signing with Kainos
  31. ^ Recent Partner Agreement signed between TIBCO and Kainos
  32. ^ Ireland: Hibernian and Kainos win top software prize
  33. ^ Siliconrepublic - "The company, which has offices in Belfast, Dublin and London, has added 40 new customers and 12 major new contracts of which eight are export agreements."
  34. ^ "Oliver Lennon in 2007: "Kainos is in the process of opening an office in London"".
  35. ^ Speechstorm Portfolio
  36. ^ "Kainos launches SpeechStorm".
  37. ^ Meridio official site
  38. ^ Autonomy is to acquire Meridio
  39. ^ Kainos opens its Gdansk office
  40. ^ Kainos selected as IT services partner to deliver electronic document and records management projects
  41. ^ First launch of Kainos AppCamp
  42. ^ Kainos - Innovation in R&D
  43. ^ VERVE - The Partners
  44. ^ IT solutions firm Kainos to create 60 Derry jobs - Siliconrepublic
  45. ^ Kainos creates 60 software jobs in Derry - BBC News
  46. ^ Kainos joins ECHAlliance
  47. ^ Kainos’s Gdansk Office Opens New Research & Development Centre
  48. ^ Kainos - Kainos Launches New ‘Earn as you Learn’ Scheme Offering Free University Places for IT Students
  49. ^ a b Partnering with Kainos
  50. ^ Autonomy partners with Kainos
  51. ^ Kainos - A Workday Implementation Partner
  52. ^ Kainos - Systems Integration
  53. ^ Kainos - Enterprise Content Management
  54. ^ Kainos - Application Management
  55. ^ Kainos - Cloud Integration
  56. ^ Kainos - Mobile Computing
  57. ^ Success story - CCLA
  58. ^ Autonomy and Kainos tie up
  59. ^ Evolve - Kainos’s flagship software application
  60. ^ About Kainos and Evolve
  61. ^ Kainos Smart - About Smart
  62. ^ Workday partner ecosystem - Kainos
  63. ^ First ever AppCamp
  64. ^ a b c Kainos AppCamp - About the AppCamp
  65. ^ Kainos launches 2012 app camp
  66. ^ AppCamp - Home Page - "New for 2013: We’re searching for creative and enthusiastic designers to take part in this year’s competition"
  67. ^ Introducing Kainos CodeCamp
  68. ^ Health Hack NI event to see marathon software coding challenge
  69. ^ Health Hack Dublin Promises a Powerhouse of Innovation
  70. ^ Information on Code4Derry
  71. ^ Tom Gray (CTO) describes the Code4Derry initiative
  72. ^ "Kainos wins 'Large Company of the Year' at the Aer Lingus Viscount Awards 2013".
  73. ^ "Kainos given accreditation in Sunday Times 100 Best Companies To Work For 2013".
  74. ^ "Enterprise CMS of the Year at the 2012 DM Awards".
  75. ^ "Finalist in 2012 DM Awards".
  76. ^ "Sunday Times 100 Best Companies 2012".
  77. ^ "Document Management Awards 2011".
  78. ^ "Star Status 2011".
  79. ^ "Deloitte Best Managed Companies Awards 2011".
  80. ^ "Sunday Times 100 Best Companies 2011".
  81. ^ "Deloitte Best Managed Companies Awards 2010".
  82. ^ "Irish Technology Leadership Group Innovation Awards".
  83. ^ "Deloitte Best Managed Companies Awards 2009".
  84. ^ "ICT Award for Sales Professional of the Year 2008".
  85. ^ "ICT Excellence Awards 2008".
  86. ^ "Kainos Wins Strategic SharePoint 2010 EDRM Project".
  87. ^ "Belfast Business Awards 2007".
  88. ^ "Information Age Effective IT 2006 Awards".
  89. ^ "Gold certified partnership with Microsoft 2005".
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