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Bank of Ireland Enterprise Ireland Start-up and Emerging Sectors Equity Fund Makes First Investment
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Digital Mines, the new cloud services provider founded by ex-Hosting 365 General Manager Ed Byrne, has become the first start-up to receive funding from the €17m Bank of Ireland / Enterprise Ireland Start-up and Emerging Sectors equity fund which was launched in December 2010.
Digital Mines has built an infrastructure as a service product for the business market. Their simple and intuitive service which will enable customers to deploy, configure and manage a cloud computing environment. Cloud computing delivers technology services in which resources are retrieved from the internet through web-based tools and applications, rather than through a direct connection to the server.
According to Ed Byrne, Cloud Computing is the future of the IT industry, but most business owners struggle to take advantage of it because they do not have the technical expertise in their company. Byrne says: "Our service simplifies the whole process to the point where our customers literally have the power at their fingers to manage their hardware and access their billing. It also provides access to cloud computing resources on a pay as you go model which allows customers to manage their infrastructure and view their balances in real-time."
The company is focused on the European market and says the €350,000 investment will realise their ambition in becoming a major player in the cloud space in the region. Byrne continues: "Despite its size, the European Union is a relatively untapped market due to the range of languages, currencies and legal systems in the market. In response, we have developed a tailored European solution with local pricing and compliant solutions to business users, ensuring that their services are deployed and remain in Europe."
The Bank of Ireland / Enterprise Ireland Start-up and Emerging Sectors equity fund seeks to make investments of between €100,000 and €500,000 to high potential start-up companies that have an innovative idea, the potential to export and are operating in Greentech/cleantech, Life sciences, Medical devices, ICT, Software, Internet, Emerging technologies, R&D, or Trading companies. Commenting on the announcement, Donal Duffy, Head of Enterprise Ireland Relations, Bank of Ireland said: "The Fund is geared to support entrepreneurial companies that turn ideas into new products and services for domestic and export markets. Digital Mines is a true example of how, in the current economic climate, a €350,000 investment can support a high-potential export oriented company grow, which is both critical for the company and to supporting Ireland's economic recovery and growth."
Irish based venture capital company, Delta Partners, manages the fund. Its General Partner, Shay Garvey, said: "This investment will help Digital Mines to exploit the shift to cloud computing as companies look to reduce the costs of setting up and managing their IT infrastructure. We believe Ed Byrne typifies the new breed of entrepreneurs and displays the ambition and the skills required to build the next generation of Irish technology companies that can achieve strong positions in overseas markets. We look forward to supporting Ed and his team".
Welcoming the announcement Des Doyle, Enterprise Ireland's Manager Growth Capital, said: "The new Bank of Ireland Start Up and Emerging Sectors Equity Fund is one of four new funds set up by Enterprise Ireland in association with the banks and other partners to provide critical start up funding for new high potential business in Ireland. These four funds now have a total of €124m available for investment in high potential Irish companies. Digital Mines is a typical example of the new innovative businesses that these funds have been set up to support."
The funding brings to the total investment of €750,000 into Digital Mines, which is supporting the Irish Software Show 2011, that includes direct investment from Enterprise Ireland and the company's existing shareholder.
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