Software firm triumphs at inaugural tech awards

A MANCHESTER company which designs customer relationship management systems for SMEs picked up two prizes at the inaugural Northern Tech Awards at the Lowry Hotel in Salford last night.

The awards, organised by Manchester-based technology networking group Techcelerate, were handed out to firms from across the north of England.

Manchester-based Capsule CRM – a firm which offers a cheap, easy-to-use customer relationship management system which costs around £8 per user, per month.

Co-founder Duncan Stockdill, who launched the product in March 2009 with business partners Phil Haines and Wendy Rule, told TheBusinessDesk.com that the the company was currently experiencing growth rates of around 20% per month.

He said the recognition the award would bring would help his business, Zestia Solutions, to recruit new staff. The company has just opened a 1,300 sq ft office at Dale St in Manchester city centre.

The main speaker at the event – former Freeserve chief Ajaz Ahmed – lamented the lack of UK companies among the world’s technology giants. He argued that the UK’s venture capital industry was partly to blame, arguing: “I don’t see much venture from them”.

However, he said the Northern Tech Awards were “a great showcase for technology companies that have the potential to go onto becoming the next global players in this important sector”. 

A full list of the winners appears below:

Best Northern Hardware Company – Thinspace
Best Northern Consumer Tech Company – VUME
Best Venture-backed Tech Start-Up – App 55
Best Northern Ecommerce Tech Company – MPP Global Solutions
Best Entrepreneurial Tech Company – Capsule CRM
Best Northern Mobile Tech Company – Apadmi
Best Northern Bootstrapped Tech company – Capsule CRM