In a unique double, Edinburgh founded Bigmouthmedia's Munich office is also celebrating after being ranked second in the Rising Stars category in Deloitte's German awards programme.

"We're delighted to have received this honour and are obviously happy that bigmouthmedia's continued success across the group has been recognised. It's a great boost for the entire team and underlines what a talented group of people we have here," said Lyndsay Menzies (right) MD of Bigmouthmedia UK.

The Deloitte Technology Fast 50, one of the UK's foremost technology award programmes, is a ranking of the country's fastest-growing technology companies based on percentage growth over five years. Now in its eleventh year, the programme honours business growth, technological innovation and UK entrepreneurial spirit.

Nexus Oncology, the Roslin, Edinburgh-based company specialising in cancer drug development services, taking 9th place, serendipitously also has  made an exciting new business wins in the US. The new projects awarded currently fall into one of Nexus’s core areas of expertise in phase I oncology and come on the back of the establishment of an enhanced management team to support US clinical operations. Nexus opened an office in Boston in May 2006 and has continued to develops its US presence since then.

Commenting on the new business wins in the US,  CEO Jane McCracken (left) said “We are delighted to have secured new oncology projects in the US. We look forward to working with our new sponsors and helping them successfully progress their oncology portfolios.”

David Halstead, partner TMT practice and Fast 50 Chairman, Deloitte said: "The large number of software and digital marketing companies in the 2008 Deloitte Fast 50 reflects the growing maturity of online enterprises. The web is approaching the next stage of its evolution, and successful business models are becoming entrenched."

Livingstone based Bloxx, the web content filtering specialist, was been recognised by Deloitte as one of the UK’s fastest expanding technology businesses also for the second consecutive year. Bloxx - established itself as the leading independent UK web filtering provider – is listed at number 19 in Deloitte’s prestigious ‘Fast 50’ award programme for its rapid growth over the last five years.

“Growing the top line enough to make the Deloitte Technology Fast 50 is especially meaningful during tough economic times for the technology sector,” says David Halstead, lead partner for the Deloitte Fast 50.

“The Fast 50 provides a fascinating view of the evolving structure of the UK's tech sector, with software and internet businesses making up the bulk of the fastest growing companies. While their products and services are at the extreme cutting edge of global technology, it is important to note that it is not just technology that makes these companies leaders in their sectors – it is about the quality of the people and their Intellectual Property (IP).”

Bloxx Tru-View Technology, developed at the company’s Livingston R&D centre, allows web pages to be accurately classified and filtered as users request them. This patented approach was the first commercially available web filter that could cope with the rapid growth of the Internet and the dynamic nature of Web 2.0 content. Tru-View Technology helps IT companies and organisations proactively manage users’ access to web content which might otherwise lower productivity, expose the organisation to risk and liability or pose a network security threat.

The company boasts an impressive customer base of over 1m users, from large corporations to educational institutions, including NHS Lothian, the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and JCB. “The demand for web filtering is ever increasing, fuelled by growing concerns over staff and student productivity levels, network security-related issues and the legal implications surrounding inappropriate Internet use.” explains (right) MD Eamonn Doyle.

One of the key unifying themes identified by the 2008 Deloitte Fast 50 winners was recruitment. For companies such as PicoChip (the amazing Bath-based semiconductor company and the only hardware producer in the fast growing list)  simply locating specialist silicon architectural talent in a global market is the central ongoing challenge for the business.

Others such as Xtreme headquartered in Aberdeen, Scotland,  have over the past four years established five “technology centres” Dunfermline, Glasgow, Portsmouth and Warsaw, Poland and  faces a similar more localised issue – internationally accredited cable engineers are rare in Aberdeen.

Managing the operational issues raised by such fast growth was also a key concern among the winners, with key importance attached to increasingly onerous compliance requirements. Xtreme were particularly concerned by staffing issues: “my worst nightmare is accepting business, and then finding I can’t fulfil it” said  CEO, Graeme Duncan (left).

No surprise then to find that the next news after reaching the top 50 growth list is that Xtreme has gained ISO 9001 accreditation! And no surprise either that the leading independent Oracle specialist, Rocela (sixth in UK hot 100, but 30 in Deloittes Fast 50) is rating high on its news the achievement of  Investors in People Standard using “New Choices”, a fresh approach to working with Investors in People that emphasises an organisation’s business priorities.

Rocela, based in Heriot Watt Research Park, Edinburgh, is the leading Oracle only specialist in Europe and now has 50 employees.  CEO Martin Mutch (right(  says: “This has been a very revealing experience for all at Rocela and we are already beginning to feel the benefits of having gone through what was a very energising process.Benefits such as improved productivity and being able to maintain levels of good working practice are key for any organisation with big ambitions to be a major player on the world stage.

Source: http://tinyurl.com/65nu94
http://www.bigmouthmedia.com/
http: //www.bloxx.com
http://www.nexusoncology.com
http://www.xtremesolutionsltd.com
http://www.rocela.com