Sigma has opened a new office in Poland to expand its digital and IT capacity.

The new office in Wroclaw has opened to provide technical software development and IT services across a wide range of technologies including web, mobile and application development.

Sigma, a 3,500-strong global IT consulting company, with UK offices in Macclesfield and Cambridge, will be able to draw on the skills and capacity in Poland to supplement existing project teams and deliver further IT and development programmes and services to its range of clients.

Sigma IT Consulting Poland has already recruited 15 skilled software engineers and IT specialists and plans to expand to over 25 by the end of the year.

Managing director of Sigma, Hilary Stephenson, said: “Sigma ITC Poland presents a great opportunity to expand our offering, and for Sigma UK it gives us further strength in our development capability and means we can offer an alternative, cost effective delivery model to our clients.

“Poland is currently experiencing a boom in highly skilled IT and research and development professionals so we saw this as the perfect opportunity to draw on the very strong and talented local IT community.”

Maciej Reutt, who has been appointed as managing director of Sigma’s new unit in Wroclaw, said: “I am excited to lead this new business venture for Sigma in Poland. Wroclaw is an amazing city and a bit like Poland’s equivalent to Silicon Valley. We are constantly on the look out for the very best in talent, and have big plans to expand over the coming months. We are looking forward to working alongside Sigma in the UK to knowledge share and provide technical support where needed.”

Sale Sharks and C&C Insurance Brokers have today announced the extension of their partnership for a further three seasons.

The sponsorship deal will see C&C – one of the top 50 independent insurance brokers in the UK – feature heavily throughout Level 2 of the AJ Bell Stadium during all of the Premiership rugby club’s home fixtures in 2017/2018.

In addition to sponsoring the main hospitality suite, which hosts over 300 guests from the North West’s top businesses, C&C have also taken the naming rights to the club’s platinum suite, which offers top class seating and bar facilities to rugby fans. They will also sponsor Sale Sharks full back Mike Haley for the 2017/18 season.

The news comes after just under £2,000 was raised during Sale Sharks’ annual corporate golf day, sponsored by C&C Insurance Brokers at The Mere last month.

Malcolm Cooke, Managing Director of C&C Insurance Brokers, said: “It’s been a fantastic four years with the Sharks and we’re excited to take our sponsorship deal into the 2017/18 season and beyond, amplifying awareness of the C&C brand to company owners and decision-makers in first-class hospitality facilities.

“We are also pleased that just under £2,000 was raised for the Sharks Academy during the recent  Sale Sharks corporate golf day which C&C will continue to sponsor.”

Mark Cueto MBE, Sale Sharks Commercial Director, said: “To continue to be able to offer our corporate guests a premier matchday experience through C&C Insurance Brokers is fantastic.

“The past four years have gone incredibly well with our partnership proving to be extremely beneficial for both parties. We’re excited to see what the future will hold.”

He added: “As always, the corporate golf day was a hit and enjoyed by all who attended. It’s a great opportunity for team bonding away from the pitch as well as for the players to spend some time with our brilliant corporate supporters.

“We’re also extremely pleased with how much money was raised to support youth coming up through the Academy. It’s really important to support our youngsters by providing the best facilities.”

We already know how great the UK is for business, but which cities are leading the way when it comes to entrepreneurship? To find out Instant Offices analysed vast amounts of Companies House data and compared population estimates with business growth. This helped determine which UK city ranks high on Instant Offices’ ‘Entrepreneurial Index’.

Surprisingly, London only turned up in 12th place, with Brighton taking the top spot for Most Entrepreneurial City in the UK.

John Williams, Head of Marketing at Instant Offices says “I can understand the appeal of Brighton and the south coast of England. It is a bit of an antidote to the hustle and bustle of the capital while possessing a strong, creative industry and really appealing to business owners and workers seeking a more relaxed alternative to London.  We have seen record demand for office space in Brighton and also a large increase in the number of operators trying to set up space in the city to cater for its growing business community.”

Comparison: Cities Leading the Way

UK for Business 

The UK ranked 8^th against 137 other countries in the Global Entrepreneurship Index (GEI) for its healthy entrepreneurial ecosystem. And London hit the top spot in the European Digital City Index for the second year in a row in 2016, with the UK capital being named the best city in Europe for digital entrepreneurship and startups.

This positive upward trajectory for startups in the UK shows no signs of slowing. According to a report by the Centre for Entrepreneurs, a record amount of businesses was launched in the UK in the last year.

With such a dynamic business environment, it’s no wonder the entrepreneurial spirit persists in the UK, a country with solid infrastructure, a huge talent pool and a vibrant startup culture. To support this, there is a large flexible working scene in London – which makes it one of the largest coworking markets in the world.

With high demand for office space in the ‘donut’ around the capital in areas like Kingston, Croydon, Richmond, and Harrow, securing a desirable UK address is not only possible, but a top priority for many businesses looking to thrive.

John says, “according to many ranking systems London has been hailed as the greatest city in the world, with its combination of thriving financial hub, vibrant culture, strong education system and multi-cultural appeal. And for entrepreneurs in particular, the capital continues to be an international draw with relatively low corporation tax, an ever-growing pool of talent and strong global client base. London now also boasts a diverse selection of places to work, in a variety of locations that really drive creativity and collaboration.  As one of its greatest citizens Samuel Johnson said: “When a man is tired of London, he is tired of life.”  You cannot put a price on its vibrancy and the collective buzz that drives business, perhaps more than in any other time in its wonderful history.”

Customers looking to redecorate their kitchens, bathrooms or bedrooms can now accurately measure their rooms and start the design process quicker and easier than ever before, by using a new augmented-reality (AR) tool. 

The innovative measurement tool, Survey, uses AR to allow a user to quickly, accurately and easily create a floor plan of the room they want to decorate by simply walking about the room using the app.

Developed by mixed reality start up DigitalBridge, the app acts as a virtual tape measure to precisely take a room’s measurements. 

It is currently available for Apple devices that are compatible with ARKit, and is soon to be available for Android devices that support ARCore. 

The app has been developed to work in conjunction with DigitalBridge’s forthcoming and highly anticipated design visualiser, which uses AR, computer vision and machine learning to allow customers to “try out” new kitchen, bedroom and bathroom designs in their own rooms. 

DigitalBridge has developed the new AR applications to help overcome the problem of the “imagination gap”, which occurs when consumers walk away from purchases because they can’t imagine what products will look like once they get home. New research commissioned by the Manchester-based company has found that more than half of homeowners (51%) have decided against a kitchen, bedroom or bathroom renovation project in the last year, because of this issue. 

David Levine, CEO of DigitalBridge, said: “Being unable to visualise what a new and expensive bathroom or kitchen would actually look like in their home has been a long-standing frustration for consumers – and a commercial challenge for retailers. 

“That’s why we have developed Survey, and our upcoming Aspect design visualiser tool, to help transform the shopping experience for consumers. 

“A new kitchen, bedroom or bathroom is usually one of the biggest investments people make after buying their home, so our AR technology essentially brings the showroom to customers so they can try out the products they like in accurately measured designs of their rooms.” 

While still a relatively young company, DigitalBridge has quickly become established as an innovative retail technology business, having received investment from John Lewis and innovation specialist L Marks. It’s also been named best company at the retail giant’s JLAB accelerator programme in 2016, and recognised as one of the most innovative start-ups in the retail technology sector by Retail Week Live and Wired Retail. .

Most recently DigitalBridge was named as one of the world’s top tech companies to watch by California based NVIDIA, after winning its retail inception accelerator scheme. 

For more information about DigitalBridge go to:  http://digitalbridge.eu/survey-new-augmented-reality-ar-app-to-measure-your-room/