Skinkers provides a cost-effective solution to the problem of overburdened online communications channels. Built on “push” technology, it provides a solution for sending branded content directly to a desktop or handheld device. The solution bypasses overburdened communications channels to ensure priority messages are delivered worldwide with visibility and impact.

By partnering with Microsoft, the group has increased interoperability with enterprise customers’ systems. The technology also facilitates better adoption rates and greater scalability. Furthermore, the alliance with Microsoft has given a powerful boost to the company’s brand value and credibility, helping it forge relationships with international organisations including the BBC, Virgin Atlantic, the Financial Times, Sky, and Cisco.

Partner Profile

Skinkers provides a viable alternative to ineffective communications channels such as e-mail, content constrained SMS, and expensive communications through call centres. It ensures priority communications reach the user through a hierarchy of devices—from desktop computers to handheld devices and mobile phones.

Benefits

Traditional forms of online communications, such as e-mail, are being overburdened. A huge increase in volume, coupled with malicious communications and spam, are negating the effectiveness of these channels as tools for conveying important, time-sensitive information. Corporate managers, frustrated by the ineffectiveness of this medium to communicate with customers, employees, and suppliers have sought new ways to transmit messages.

Skinkers has developed an innovative solution to this problem, using the latest proprietary “push” technology to quickly communicate with desktop computers or handheld devices. In 2006, Skinkers signed an Innovation Partnership with Microsoft, acquiring technology from the Microsoft Research Cambridge lab, which will help it to reach a greater number of customers with a faster and more reliable service. Matteo Berlucchi, Chief Executive Officer, Skinkers, says: “The advanced research technology of Microsoft is a perfect fit for the technical needs of our next-generation event notification and content delivery solutions. We will be using the Microsoft customer and partner network to distribute and find new markets for our solutions.”

Technology Accelerates Development

With Microsoft® Visual Studio® and the Microsoft .NET Framework, the group can accelerate development of new solutions. “When stress-testing applications, the developers have been greatly impressed by the performance of solutions based on .NET,” says Berlucchi. “We are now in the process of developing a complete enterprise solution based on the .NET Framework.”

With a cooperative development partnership in place with Microsoft, the Skinkers development team has already experienced substantial benefits resulting from increased knowledge share. The project has had a positive impact on both the enthusiasm of the engineers and their skill sets. “Using Microsoft best practice in development and testing will serve to accelerate the increased quality, reliability, and scalability of Skinkers emerging platforms to serve a rapidly increasing customer base,” Berlucchi says.

Strategic Relationship Supports Market Penetration

The Microsoft partnership has helped Skinkers reach senior executives in large corporations and increased its ability to interoperate with enterprise customer systems and develop highly scalable solutions. With the signing of the Innovation Partnership, Skinkers has acquired the collaborative agent technology developed by Microsoft Research Cambridge and begun working with Microsoft to co-develop next-generation software solutions and introduce them to the market.

But the benefits don’t end there. The strategic relationship Microsoft has with major partners and customers will help Skinkers forge relationships that would otherwise have been inaccessible. The partnership with Microsoft has boosted both the company’s brand value and credibility. “The Microsoft partnership helps us reach more prestigious organisations and also to increase the value of the solutions we offer,” says Berlucchi.

Skinkers currently counts some of the world’s best known brands—including the BBC, Virgin Atlantic, the Financial Times, Sky, CNN, and Manchester United Football Club—among its clients of custom-built desktop alert technology.

Partners Hail Opportunity

The partnership and technology exchange has also been embraced by Skinkers investors, including Jay Patel, Executive Director, NewMedia SPARK. “The technology and support available from Microsoft provide an unparalleled opportunity for small and emerging businesses,” says Patel. “Skinkers will develop a new generation of real-time event notification and high-bandwidth content delivery technology, built on Microsoft technology and sold and distributed with support from Microsoft.”

Berlucchi says: “Developing on the .NET Framework has been a big advantage for us. We are delighted to have signed this deal with Microsoft. It’s an exciting opportunity for us to co-develop software to help both businesses and consumers enjoy film, video, news, and information delivered in real time to their desktops.”

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© 2007 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved. This case study is for informational purposes only. MICROSOFT MAKES NO WARRANTIES, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, IN THIS SUMMARY. Microsoft and Visual Studio are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Microsoft Corporation in the United States and/or other countries. The names of actual companies and products mentioned herein may be the trademarks of their respective owners.

Document Published January 2007