Press Release

June 16th, 2010
Minister congratulates innovative healthcare software company on jobs expansion

(Glasgow, UK: June 16th, 2010) External Affairs Minister Fiona Hyslop MSP today praised Glasgow-based healthcare software developer and implementer, AxSys Technology, for its recession-busting contribution to the Scottish economy.

The company, which has been supported by Scottish Enterprise and Scottish Development International (SDI), has bucked the recessionary trend by growing aggressively both at home and overseas and has recently won a number of new customers in the UK as well as a series of large contracts in the USA and Canada.  

Visiting the company’s headquarter offices, at Glasgow Airport Business Park, Fiona Hyslop described AxSys Technology as a shining example of how Scotland’s strong heritage of innovation provides a unique selling point to encourage collaboration between Scottish and Indian entrepreneurs. The Minister also commented that encouraging such mutually beneficial collaboration is a key strategic aim of the India Plan, published in March this year as part of the Government’s programme of engagement with South Asia.

AxSys Technology specialises in the development and implementation of clinical software solutions that enable the delivery of coordinated and collaborative care. The company was founded in Glasgow in 2000 by Dr Pradeep Ramayya, a former Consultant Anaesthetist and his wife Dr Anjali Ramayya, a Psychiatrist, and its development has been driven by their passion to improve the levels of healthcare delivery through the use of innovative technology.

With more than 30 years of experience working within the NHS between them, they decided to put their medical expertise into developing collaborative healthcare software systems built around the needs of healthcare professionals. As a result all AxSys’ solutions are designed from a clinical perspective to ensure healthcare delivery is co-ordinated across the various healthcare settings both regionally and nationally.

In 2009, AxSys Technology received a grant that could be worth £225,000 of Regional Selective Assistance (RSA) funding, to help develop its clinical solutions and create an additional 14 jobs.  The company has 37 employees at its Glasgow base and is currently recruiting additional staff. AxSys has an offshore development centre in Hyderabad, India where it employs more than 150 staff.

During her visit today Fiona Hyslop also congratulated key staff at AxSys Technology for the company’s spate of domestic and overseas contract wins which, she believes, underline what can be achieved when Scottish and Indian businesses, organisations and institutions work closer together.

“AxSys is a great success story, showing the potential benefits to Scottish companies of looking beyond these shores and accessing overseas markets.  Its international reach has given AxSys an advantage which has allowed it to continue to grow despite the global economic climate,” she said.

“This is exactly this type of business collaboration and knowledge transfer we are seeking to foster and strengthen through the India Plan.  There is huge potential, so I hope to see a steady increase in the number of Scottish companies considering how they can grow their businesses by internationalising their operations.”

David Smith, interim chief executive of SDI, added: "This is a great example of where an inward investor company has used Scotland as a base to develop, refine and launch a truly world-leading healthcare software solution. AxSys Technology should be congratulated on its vision and its commitment to establishing the Scottish operation as a global player, and SDI has supported this via its trade mission programme and the GlobalScot network."

Dr Pradeep Ramayya, co-founder and CEO, AxSys Technology, agrees that the success of the company in winning new customers at home and the multi-million pound contracts overseas is living proof that there is much to be gained from Scottish and Indian companies working closely together.

“We’ve been very excited by the success of our systems in Scotland and the rest of the UK and, more recently, overseas,” he says.

“We always felt that Scotland, where Anjali and I live and where we also worked within the NHS, would be a strong, innovative economy through which we could launch our company and then use this base to grow overseas. We’re a good example of a company that is now contributing significantly to the Scottish economy thanks to our close collaboration with our teams in Hyderabad. So, hopefully there will be plenty more new opportunities for Scottish and Indian entrepreneurs opened by the Government’s Indian Plan.”

“We are a passionate and driven company and our objective is to continue to grow and expand the company organically. I have the loyalty and hard work of the staff to thank for our success but this is not just about the business it’s also about making a contribution to improving the health welfare of all citizens and delivering good, safe patient care.

Images
Photos from the Minister’s visit will be sent direct to picture desks by Donald Macleod – 07702 319738

About AxSys Technology Limited
Company background - The Glasgow based company was formed in 2000 by Dr Pradeep Ramayya, a former Consultant Anaesthetist and Dr Anjali Ramayya, a Psychiatrist. With more than 30 years of experience within the NHS between them.  They decided to put their knowledge of medicine and patient care into developing a unique product platform that could be used in any clinical scenario. Pradeep and Anjali believed that some of the key issues surrounding healthcare were down to a lack of information sharing and collaboration amongst healthcare professionals leading to variability in the standards of care being delivered.

The collaborative care platform that they built allows doctors and other healthcare professionals to coordinate care with each other as well as to share a single view of the patient record.  The AxSys system also allows patients to collaborate with their care givers leading to greater engagement and better outcomes.  AxSys systems are used throughout the UK and the company has recently won bids to introduce its technology to healthcare providers in the USA and Canada.

The AxSys product Excelicare was conceived as a solution for Collaborative Care. It is a powerful toolset-based application that allows the creation of highly tailored clinical systems to reflect the complex working patterns of clinicians across the healthcare spectrum and has the ability to integrate effectively with existing healthcare IT systems. It incorporates advanced telecommunication, multi-media and decision support technologies within a clinician-friendly Electronic Patient Record (EPR) framework.
For further information visit www.axsys.co.uk

Regional Selective Assistance
Regional Selective Assistance (RSA) is the main national scheme of financial assistance to industry, and is administered by Scottish Enterprise. 

The scheme provides discretionary grants to investment projects that will create and safeguard employment in areas designated for regional aid under European Community law.
           
Payment of RSA is made in instalments, typically over several years as job and capital expenditure targets are met. 

For more information on RSA, visit www.scottishbusinessgrants.gov.uk

Scottish Development International
Scottish Development International (SDI) works to attract inward investment and knowledge to Scotland to help the economy grow. It also helps Scottish companies to do more business overseas and promote Scotland as a good place to live, work and do business. It is jointly operated by Scottish Enterprise and the Scottish Government, and its work is guided by the Scottish Government’s strategy for economic development in Scotland.
For further information visit www.sdi.co.uk

About the India Plan
The Scottish Government’s India Plan encourages collaboration between Scottish and Indian businesses, organisations and institutions to bring mutual benefit in the four key areas of trade and investment, education and science, tourism and culture and heritage.

India’s economy is the twelth largest in the world and is fourth in terms of purchasing power. Growth has continued at 7% despite the downturn.

The close existing ties which the India Plan seeks to strengthen include a £25m contribution to the Scottish economy from Indian tourists (in 2006) and the country represents the second largest international market for overseas students. Between 2005 and 2008 3,000 Indian graduates decided to stay on and work in Scotland under the Fresh Talent scheme.

http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Topics/Government/International-Relations/india
http://www.scotland.gov.uk/News/Releases/2010/03/26114735

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