Touchpoint receives
research grant to further develop unified messaging technology.
29 April 2002
Auckland based Touchpoint Limited has received a $60,000 research
grant to further develop the unified messaging technology used within
the core of its marketing automation products.
The grant has been made as part of the Grants for Private Sector
Research and Development (GPSRD), a government scheme introduced
in June 2000 with the intention of increasing the level of private
sector investment in research and development in New Zealand.
The 12-month grant will pay for a third of the proposed $180,000
research programme that Touchpoint will carry out, to further extend
the technology within the proprietary Digital Communications Switch
component used at the core of its products.
"We are delighted that the importance of this research into
practical Unified Messaging has been recognised in this very positive
way, says Steve Shearman, Managing Director of Touchpoint.
"The grant allows us allocate additional resources towards
this research, and its successful completion will result in new
products being brought to market quicker, as well as eventually
providing new opportunities outside of our current markets."
Potential applications for the resulting technology will allow
systems to communicate (with people or other applications) via multiple
channels without requiring any prior knowledge of the specific channels
the messages will be delivered over.
For example accounts software that will not only generate invoices,
but also deliver them via Fax, Email or Post through a single network
service provider. In this scenario the receiver or network, and
not the sender/application may determine the actual channel for
delivery. This approach to messaging potentially provides for huge
savings for companies in post, print and data entry costs, as well
as giving end consumers more control over how they wish to receive
communications.
According to Steve Shearman, the award is a great boost for the
development team after two successful years of developing the technology
behind the current products.
Although Technology New Zealand awards a number of grants for research
in the areas of biotechnology, manufacturing and telecommunications,
grants for software related research are harder to qualify for due
to the strict definitions of research when applied to software.
"We're thrilled to have been awarded funding towards this
research, and are looking forward to the day we make the resulting
technology available our customers in New Zealand and Overseas."
About Touchpoint
Touchpoint Limited is an independent New Zealand-owned company that
develops and provides digital marketing tools and solutions. Driven
by a group of online marketing and technology experts, Touchpoint
helps businesses build closer, more profitable customer relationships
by taking advantage of new and emerging digital channels, including
email, SMS text-messaging, interactive TV, and the Web.
For more information please contact:
Steve Shearman
Touchpoint Limited
64 9 353 6870
<< Back to Media
Releases
<< Back to In The News
|
