A Technology Start-up, Born from an Agency
Software product development in healthcare, by David Hunt
In April 2012, Instagram had an estimated 27 million users with only 13 employees. At the back end of 2012, Pinterest had approximately 100 staff to 40 million users. Whilst social media played a significant part in the growth of these businesses, at the heart of their success was a need, which inspired an idea, that in-turn became a solution.
I’ve collaborated alongside some amazing creatives. People with ideas and concepts, people who are not limited by technology conceptually, but in the delivery. Likewise, I am fortunate enough to have worked with some exceptional software engineers. People with talent and expertise, people who master technologies to fulfil their want. Both have the common ambition, to make a difference.
Having an idea and a solution is not always enough. First you must identify a need. A genuine, real need that represents an opportunity to make an impact. Communication agencies have the potential to make this leap. They can harness creative & technical expertise, and have the insight to identify a need. As demonstrated by the likes of Pinterest & Instagram, impacting the many can be done by the few. As an agency, I believe it comes down to courage & conviction.
Earlier this year we launched, HAVAS HEALTH SOFTWARE. We understand healthcare and we know the challenges. We pride ourselves on meaningful innovation, and have a proven track record of ideas that work. We have a brilliant team of engineers led by Andy Stopford, Technical Director. It is a bold move, it has required significant investment, but we believe the timing is right. Over the last decade we have built a number of products, and we have the appetite & ambition to take local success stories and make them global.
Why now? And what will success look like? Our clients are bored with technology that is not designed around the unique needs of healthcare, like old hand-me downs they don’t quite fit. Equally they are frustrated with great ideas that simply fail to deliver on the promise, wasting time, effort and money. With 15 years experience in software engineering & 50+ full-time developers, our foundations are solid. Backed-up by a vibrant local digital community and with robust process & systems, we have the infrastructure to deliver. Our products fulfil the ideas of the creatives & sectors specialists, provide a robust & long-term solution, and most importantly meet the needs of our clients.
40 million users are unlikely, however a portfolio of robust products supporting key clients is already becoming a reality. With customer engagement being led by Jon Vernon, we are seeing real traction & success. But our ambitions are greater than that. We want to create an innovation pipeline, with significant and ongoing investment in new products & new features. They won’t all be a success, but as a partner to our clients and with courage & conviction, we are well placed to identify needs, develop an idea and provide a solution.
One of our greatest achievements has been blending the maverick of our creative teams with the science of our engineers. Now with the benefit of experience, a proven portfolio of products and the ambition to meet the bespoke needs of our clients, we introduce HAVAS HEALTH SOFTWARE.
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Data sources: Business Insider, Facebook, Forbes, LinkedIn, Macroaxis, Reuters, Statista, Tumblr, Twitter, The Wall Street Journal, Wikipedia
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