Pioneering firms in final

Two Galway companies which have made it through to the final of the Innovation Awards 2017, will discover next week if they have claimed a top prize.

Econiq, which is based in Dock Street, is up against two other companies in the Fintech category while NVP Energy which is based in the Galway Technology Centre in Mervue, is also up against two other firms in the Energy & the Environment category.

The overall winner of The Irish Times Innovation of the Year Award 2017 will be selected from among the seven category award winners.

Econiq’s software helps call centre staff structure their interactions with clients. Its ‘Conversation Hub’ sits on top of existing software systems and guides agents through conversations in a series of steps to help them achieve the best outcome for the customer and themselves.

The agent is guided through the conversation by prompts on the screen in front of them but overlaying those verbal signals is a colour guide which appears at the top of the screen and which represents a naturally flowing conversation.

Jim Callan founder and Chief Executive says business is very good. “While everyone is investing in digital their customers still want to speak to people. One of the great ironies is that the millennial generation actually want to speak to people more than the previous generation. There is still a role for humans in customer interaction and there is a lot of interest in what we are doing.”

NVP Energy’s technology turns wastewater from industrial and other processes into an asset by cleaning it and creating gas for use in combined heat and power systems and other applications.

For more, read this week’s Connacht Tribune.