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Craneware is Software Company of the Year

Hi-Tech Scotland reporter | Saturday November 29, 2008



A Livingston software company which started out on the back of a beermat and now has contracts with 10% of hospitals in the US has been voted Scottish software company of the year.  

Craneware Plc took the title of Scottish Software Company 2008 and Best International Software Business at the Scottish Software Awards ceremony on Fri 28 Nov organised by  consultancy Targeting Innovation in conjunction with Straightline Publishing.

Craneware, whose headquarters are at Rosebank Business Park, Livingston, produces software solutions that improve the financial performance of US Hospitals.

The company was started by Keith Neilson and Gordon Craig in 1999 and signed its first customer contract with the Bayshore Community Hospital in New Jersey in September of that year. Since then it has sold in excess of $110 million worth of licenses and services and today has contracts with more than 950 hospitals in 48 states in America.

George Boag, chief executive Targeting Innovation, said:”The judges found this year’s entries to be of extremely high quality. We were impressed by the number of companies who were able to demonstrate strong growth in the year, especially in light of the current economic climate.”

Keith Neilson, co-founder and CEO of Craneware, said: “In classic entrepreneurial style the original business plan was written on a beer mat and the company was boot strapped by applying for as many credit cards as possible. Today, in a US hospital market that spends $40 billion a year on software, to have 10% of them saying we are their best software vendor is pretty special for a Scottish company. We plan to be a global player in the health information technology of the future.”

Gerry Docherty, former chairman of Scotland IS – who presented the awards - said:”The Scottish software industry is one of the powerhouses of the Scottish economy. The sector provides more than 70,000 high-quality jobs in Scotland. Our overall winner, Craneware, is a perfect example to all growing IT companies in Scotland. They have not had it easy, but the quality of their management team has seen them through to a position where they are now established players in a technically-tough, highly-competitive international marketplace.”

The winners at the Scottish Software Awards were:

Best Software Product: Gael Ltd

Emerging Software Business: Keypoint Technologies Ltd

Best International Software Business: Craneware Plc

Best Wireless/Mobile Software Solution: Mobile Acuity Ltd

Best Digital/Media Software Solution: Storm ID Ltd

Best Environmental Software Solution: Integrated Environmental Solutions (IES) Limited

Scottish Software Company 2008: Craneware Plc

www.craneware.com
www.scottishsoftwareawards.co.uk

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