Intelligent SME.tech Issue 28 | Page 9

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Aerospace Xelerated announces start-ups joining its fourth cohort
Nearly two in five businesses plan to ramp up technology investment
Aerospace Xelerated has announced the 11 start-ups working on digital services and solutions that will join its fourth cohort to solve key challenges for the aerospace sector .
Following three successful programmes led by Boeing and supported by industry partners , this year ’ s programme will be run in partnership with Tawazun Council , the defence and security acquisitions authority of the United Arab Emirates ( UAE ).
From 158 applications from around the world , the companies joining the programme come from the following countries : Australia , Canada , Japan , Netherlands , UAE , UK and USA .
Start-ups accepted into the programme will have the option to benefit from a £ 100,000 investment from Boeing , with potential for additional funding from partners . Through Aerospace Xelerated , start-ups will be introduced to a network of angel investors , venture capitalists and key stakeholders among the aerospace industry , throughout the 12-week programme . Successful companies will also get more than £ 100,000 in programme perks from partners .
Almost two in five businesses plan to scale up their investment in technology over the next 12 to 18 months to lower operational costs through Digital Transformation .
According to a report from Capgemini , 72 % of these organisations planning Digital Transformation will do so through significant investment to reduce long-term costs , amidst the pressures of an expected recession .
Sridhar Iyengar , Managing Director of Zoho Europe , said : “ It is encouraging to see businesses with intent to invest in technology , with research and development a major driver of growth ,
even during times of economic difficulty .
“ It enables businesses to improve their processes , addressing the needs of customers and maintaining a high standard of employee and customer experience , which is vital during times of uncertainty to remain competitive .”
It was also found that 39 % of businesses expected to maintain their current level of investment .
Wazoku launches new employee insights product
Innovation scale-up , Wazoku , has launched Mindpool SME , an employee insights dashboard that makes it simpler and faster for small- and medium-sized businesses to listen to , understand and act on employee insights about their business .
Following Wazoku ’ s Q3 2022 acquisition of the Danish collective intelligence platform and research spin-out , Mindpool , a SaaS tool that captures actionable employee insight to improve company performance , the two businesses have been enhancing the employee insights dashboard functions as a core component of the platform .
Now launched as Mindpool SME , it features much more advanced data analytics and intelligent presentation of insights in realtime . This allows SME users of Mindpool to instantly tap into an overview of actionable insights , predictions and suggestions provided by employees across the business .
“ Employee insight is an organisation ’ s greatest asset and tapping into that collective know-how can be transformative for SMEs ,” said Simon Hill , CEO , Wazoku .
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