Would you like to contribute or have your site in our showcase?

Email: info@dpivision.com

A lot has happened over the last year and the credit crunch has affected us all. You’ll be glad to hear that we’re moving with the times too!

We’ll soon be launching a new Tradingeye site, a new Tradingeye Themes site as well as a new support centre and forum!

- Would you like your site, or customer’s site in the showcase? We have tens of thousands of unique visitors a month and all previous showcase sites have shown a large increase in visitors and of course sales!

- We’re launching a Tradingeye Themes site and we’re looking for our designer community to contribute. Lots of businesses are moving online to keep up with technology, but they don’t yet want to spend thousands. With a few generic themes you’ll be able to not only help out those customers but also make some nice regular income.

- Any testimonials (or even gripes?) with Tradingeye? We’re here because we listened to the web designer community and retailers. We want to hear you success stories, and we want to stop those little niggles. We want your feedback and we’ll use it.

We’re exited by the changes and hope you are too!

Yours truly,

The Tradingeye Team

Software giant Sage (www.sage.com) has singled out Dpivision as an example of how to trade online.

In its annual report, E-business Benchmark, Sage uses Dpivision as a case study to highlight ways that e-businesses can pave their own way in the tough market.

Wladimir Baranoff-Rossine, managing director, shares his top marketing tips on how to keep a business afloat in such a competitive sector and the variety of ways Dpivision has managed to stay ahead of its game.

To compile the report, Sage Pay (www.sagepay.com) – a UK’s fastest growing payment provider and division of Sage – quizzed more than 2,000, UK-based, online businesses.

Simon Black, Sage Pay boss, said: “As the e-commerce market matures, e-businesses need to do more to make the most of their potential.

“The stats show that merchants are pretty good at getting shoppers to their sites but at the crucial point they are letting customers slip away.”

To download the report, visit www.benchmarkyourebusiness.com (we’re featured on page 24)

It’s set to be a busy summer for Dpivision as we gear up to take our products to America and China.

From July 18th to 25th, we will be heading to Austin, Texas, where we will be joining more than 1,500 Internet professionals from across the globe for HostingCon 2010.

Now in its sixth year, the conference and trade show brings together the brightest and the best from the industry, giving people the chance to share ideas, network and get together.

http://www.hostingcon.com/

Then from August 30th to September 8th, we will be travelling to China as part of a Sunderland Software City, One NorthEast and UKTI consortium, where we will be exploring opportunities to strike up business over there.

As part of our trip, we will be visiting Shanghai, Nanjing and Harbin.

http://en.cis-expo.com/

If anyone would like to meet up with us during our trips, please drop us a line.

We’ve been rubbing shoulders with some of the globe’s top Internet geeks when they descended on the region for two digital conferences.

The DIBI Conference saw a host of speakers take to The Sage Gateshead for the one day event.

Top web designer Andy Clarke, who we have been working closely with over the last year, wowed the crowds with his anecdotes, top tips and advice on CSS and web design.

Jon McLoone shared his titillating tales on working with Wolfram Research, the makers of Mathematica since 2002, and Michael Brunton-Spall spilled the beans on how he helps the Guardian newspaper boost its online presence.

Last week, we were among thousands of people who flocked to the same venue for the world famous, three-day Thinking Digital conference.

Hosted by Codeworks, the event was rammed full of speakers, networking events and evening entertainment.

If you haven’t already been, then we’d recommend next year’s event but you’d better get booked early as it’s always a sell out.

For more information and to see some photos we took from the events, visit:

http://www.dibiconference.com/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/dpivision/sets/72157623955844174/

http://www.thinkingdigital.co.uk/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/dpivision/sets/72157624120237097/

Digital city – bthere: Inflight Magazine Brussels Airlines

Image Getty Images, photolibrary.com

The future is digital, and Newcastle knows it. Marissa Peel takes a look at how this once forgotten city has risen from its industrial ashes

If there’s one thing Newcastle is good at, it’s transformations. Twenty-five years ago, it was unimaginable that the coal city would narrowly miss out on being crowned European Capital of Culture, or be dubbed the world’s eighth most creative metropolis. Over the last two decades Newcastle has worked hard to shake off its reputation as a gloomy, poverty-stricken place and is now thriving, attracting people from across the world to its stylish streets. One sector that has helped breathe a 21st-century form of life into the city is its buzzing digital market – which is a product of Silicon Alley.

In 1989, North East Workspace – part of the not-for-profit organisation Project North East (PNE) – revealed its vision to transform a derelict pocket of Newcastle into a vibrant hub of forward-thinking people specialising in what was then the new big thing: digital media. The company snapped up a row of abandoned 18th- and 19th-century buildings along Pink Lane and Westgate Road for a just £80,000 and set about turning the vision into reality. The plan worked, and over the following years the area attracted a new breed of digital entrepreneurs.

Offering office space for £6 to £10 per square foot, 24-hour broadband for £10 a month and an onsite centre for advice, Silicon Alley today gives 60 bright young things (employing more than 300 people) a platform to succeed. Director of North East Workspace Richard Spence says, “We’ve managed to acquire a site in a run-down area of Newcastle and make things happen, but the real measure of success is that people have moved on when they’ve out grown the place and there are now tenants all over Newcastle, employing lots of people in sustainable businesses.”

One company that’s flourished in Silicon Alley is Dpivision.com Ltd, which moved into a prime Pink Lane spot when managing director Wladimir BaranoffRossine launched his ecommerce and web design company in 2003. Since then, the business has grown tremendously, with PNE’s helping hand propelling it towards becoming a leader in the global online market. “We’re thriving here on Pink Lane,” says Baranoff-Rossine. “There’s cheap rent, free advice, plenty of businesses around to bounce ideas off – and we’re right in the heart of the city. There’s a lot of global work being carried out every day in these offices, and Newcastle is definitely expanding in the global market. It’s proved to be a great place to set up my business.”

International relations

Like many other Silicon Alley companies, Dpivision.com Ltd is now showcasing Newcastle’s new breed of business to the world. With contracts in America, Australia, Canada and France, the company has paved a way for itself in a tough international market. In 2006, it championed the city’s talent when it launched www.Tradingeye.com, one of the world’s first accessible ecommerce shopping carts. This pioneering product went on to secure a clutch of industry awards and is now used across the world, by everyone from the Ministry of Justice in Armenia and international brands Regus and Flybe to baby-product company Tommee Tippee and record label Late Night Tales.

The company’s latest venture, www.CannyBill.com, was unveiled last year and was immediately selected for the Plugg European Startup Award, where it fought off fierce competition from 126 businesses to make it to the final. The innovative online invoicing and billing solution is the start of a range of software the company has pledged to develop for businesses and web designers over the next few years.

Getting connected

Not-for-profit organisation Codeworks has also been nurturing Newcastle’s digitally creative entrepreneurs, including Dpivision.com Ltd, since 2003. Under its Codeworks Connect arm, digital companies can network, attend courses and conferences with industry speakers, seek advice and apply for funding. A pioneering programme where graduates from the city’s universities – Northumbria and Newcastle – are given work placements with local digital companies has also proved a hit, with more than 400 students taking advantage since it launched three years ago. What’s more, 85 per cent have gone on to be offered permanent jobs.

Software development is an additional area of expertise, and in a bid to get the creative juices flowing, anyone able to offer a top idea for developing an application can access funding, as well as a helping hand in turning it into reality. Since it launched three years ago, six companies have been created.

Getting people talking about Newcastle is another of Codeworks’ aims, and in 2007 founder Herb Kim launched Thinking Digital, a three-day conference that last year attracted more than 600 people from as far afield as America, South Africa, South Korea, India and China. “It was about putting on a conference that would inspire the technology ideas of our future,” says Kim. “We create an immersive environment that opens the mind to new thinking and people, which in turn stimulates ideas for attacking the challenges in our personal and professional lives.” And with this year’s conference, which takes place on 25-27 May (www.thinkingdigital.co.uk), set to be even bigger, it looks like the whole world will soon be talking about Newcastle’s exploding digital scene.

FR Ville numérique

Le futur sera numérique, et Newcastle en sait quelque chose. Marissa Peel analyse la façon dont cette ville, autrefois oubliée, renaît aujourd’hui de ses cendres industrielles.

Après deux décennies d’efforts passés à gommer sa réputation de ville glauque, Newcastle attire à nouveau aujourd’hui des habitants du monde entier dans ses rues de caractère – et le secteur qui a insufflé une nouvelle vie à la cité est sans conteste le marché des technologies numériques.

En 1989, North East Workspace – qui fait partie du Project North East (PNE) – a fait raser un bloc de bâtiments à l’abandon dans un quartier délabré de Newcastle pour y instaurer un hub vibrant, qui puisse propulser la ville dans le futur des médias numériques. Et cela a marché. En offrant des espaces de bureaux à des prix abordables et des conseils gratuits, ce ‘Silicon Alley’ offre aujourd’hui à 60 entrepreneurs du secteur – employant plus de 300 personnes – une plateforme gagnante. Dpivision.com Ltd, une compagnie d’e-commerce et de web design fondée en 2003, en est un exemple. “Nous grandissons à toute vitesse,” confie son directeur Wladimir Baranoff-Rossine. “On trouve ici des loyers modérés, des conseils professionnels gratuits et une foule d’opportunités commerciales… Newcastle se positionne définitivement comme un acteur important dans le marché global.”

L’association sans but lucratif Codeworks alimente également les entrepreneurs du numérique à Newcastle. Sous sa branche Codeworks Connect, les sociétés peuvent faire partie d’un réseau, chercher du conseil et introduire des demandes de financement. En outre, un programme d’emploi pour les diplômés des deux universités de la ville a été développé avec succès. À cela, il faut ajouter que toute personne susceptible de fournir une super idée pour une application logicielle peut obtenir un soutien financier ainsi qu’une aide à la réalisation pour mener à bien son projet. En 2007, le créateur de Codeworks, Herb Kim, a lancé Thinking Digital, une conférence qui a attiré l’année dernière plus de 600 personnes venues d’horizons aussi lointains que les Etats-Unis, l’Afrique du Sud, la Corée du Nord, l’Inde et la Chine. Et ce mois-ci, la conférence qui se déroulera du 25 au 27 mai, (thinkingdigital.co.uk) devrait être un événement encore plus prestigieux : bientôt, le monde entier pourrait bien parler de la nouvelle scène numérique de Newcastle.

NL Digitale stad

De toekomst is digitaal en dat beseft Newcastle maar al te goed. Marissa Peel bekijkt hoe deze eens vergeten stad uit zijn industriële as is verrezen.

Newcastle heeft twee decennia lang een mistroostig imago van zich afgeschud en trekt nu mensen aan van overal ter wereld die de stijlvolle straten van de Engelse stad komen ontdekken. Eén sector in het bijzonder heeft de stad nieuw leven ingeblazen: de digitale markt.

In 1989 knapte North East Workspace – als onderdeel van Project North East (PNE) – een rij verlaten gebouwen op in een verwaarloosde buurt van Newcastle. Daarmee begon de opbouw van een levendige broeihaard van het nieuwe gouden kalf: digitale media. En of het een succes werd! ‘Silicon Alley’ biedt betaalbare kantoorruimte en gratis advies aan 60 digitale ondernemers – met meer dan 300 werknemers – en is een heus platform richting digitaal succes. Een voorbeeld van een bedrijf dat het helemaal gemaakt heeft, is Dpivision.com Ltd, dat werd opgericht in 2003 en gespecialiseerd is in e-commerce en web design. “De zaken gaan erg goed,” zegt gedelegeerd bestuurder Wladimir Baranoff-Rossine. “Goedkoop huren, gratis advies, heel wat bedrijven in de buurt, … Newcastle is vast en zeker aan een opmars bezig op de globale markt”.

Ook de non-profitorganisatie Codeworks stuwt de digitale entrepreneurs van Newcastle voorwaarts. Via Codeworks Connect kunnen bedrijven netwerken, advies uitwisselen en fondsen aanvragen. En een programma waarbij afgestudeerden van de twee universiteiten die de stad rijk is aan de slag gaan in de bedrijven van Silicon Alley, is eveneens een schot in de roos. Sterker nog, iedereen die een uitstekend idee kan voorleggen over een softwareapplicatie kan er aanspraak maken op kapitaal en voldoende helpende handen om dat idee om te zetten in de praktijk.

In 2007 lanceerde de oprichter van Codeworks, Herb Kim, de conferentie Thinking Digital die vorig jaar meer dan 600 mensen naar Newcastle lokte. Er waren bezoekers uit Amerika, Zuid-Afrika, Zuid-Korea, India en China. De conferentie van deze maand belooft nog grootser te worden (25 tot 27 mei, thinkingdigital.co.uk). Het ziet er dan ook naar uit dat de hele wereld het binnenkort over de digitale zakenwereld van Newcastle zal hebben.

We brushed up on our marketing skills with the region’s elite.

As well as giving us the chance to network with companies from across the North East, the Marketing The Art Of conference gave us the chance to pick up tips on the best ways to get our products and services out there to the public.

The event, at The Sage Gateshead, hosted talks and workshops from the likes of Herb Kim, founder of Thinking Digital Conference, Rob Lawson, editor of the Sunderland Echo, and Philip Knowles, of the Chartered Institute of Marketing.
Check out our photos from the event at:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/dpivision/sets/72157622795256568/

For more details on the event and booking for next year’s, visit www.marketingtheartof.com.

Come and meet and greet the Dpivision.com Ltd team as we host the after hours fun to a day with a top designer.

Designer and author Andy Clark from Stuff and Nonsense is stopping off in Newcastle to host an Advanced CSS Styling workshop at the Copthorne Hotel in October.

And we have joined forces with him to host and sponsor an evening of socialising at The Salsa Club, giving people the chance to unwind, swap top tips and beef up their contacts book.

The one-day masterclass offers ideas on how to use the most up-to-date CSS techniques of the moment, including:

- How to design balanced, inspired layouts using advanced CSS positioning techniques
- New ways to work with colour using RGBa
- Using multiple background and border images
- How to use text and box shadows
- About CSS gradients, reflections and transitions

Places are running out very quickly so book your place now!

http://forabeautifulweb.com/announcing/newcastle_upon_tyne_2009/

For the CannyBill sponsored after party, we are extending the invitation to our customers.

So come along and say hello to the team at The Salsa Club, West Gate Road, Newcastle on October 30 from 6.30pm onwards and fill yourself up with some of the tastiest free nachos and best Mexican beer.

Just so we know how much free food and booze to order, drop us a line to say you’ll be coming at info@dpivision.com.

We have been invited to join some of the country’s most prestigious digital people at an exclusive event.

Next week, we will be heading to the capital with one of just six North East-based businesses selected to attend the High Growth conference.

As part of the conference, which aims to give software and technology-based businesses the chance to explore strategic partnering, flotation or equity finance, we will be meeting with top bods at Microsoft, Google and Silicone Valley businesses.

We will also be given the chance to meet some potential corporate customers and be given advice on how to develop our business.

Wladimir Baranoff-Rossine, project manager, said: “This is another great chance to spread the word about the work we do to some of the world’s biggest companies.”

Some of the country’s top digital geeks gathered in Newcastle for this year’s Thinking Digital conference.

And we got in on the three days of jam-packed action to mingle with some of the country’s top bods, listen to some of the industry’s finest speakers and exchange tips on digital related issues.

Hosted in the spectacular Sage, more than 400 people from across the country attended the event, with talks from the likes of Alex Hunter, head of online marketing for Virgin Group, Dan Lyons, Newsweek Magazine’s technology columnist, Curtis Wong, principal researcher for Microsoft Research and Andrew Barke, industry head for advertising agencies at Google.

But it wasn’t all work, work, work. We also got to eat some fabulous food on the Quayside and relax with some post-conference drinks at The Pitcher and Piano.

Thinking Digital 2010 runs from May 25 to 27, with the main conference taking place at The Sage Gateshead.

After such an informative and enjoyable three days, we’ve already booked our tickets for next year.

Find out more at www.thinkingdigital.co.uk and you can see some of our photos from the night below:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/dpivision/sets/72157618408188776/

British web geeks took over Texas when the South By South West Interactive Festival came to town.

And we were part of the digital mission’s five-days of action in Austin.

Our creative juices were sent into overdrive as we mingled with more than 9,000 of the industry’s top bods, swapping hints and tips on the way we work.

We spread the word about our latest project, CannyBill, through our stand at the Digital Mission Expo event, dishing out hundreds of flyers and leaflets along the way.

And we paid a visit to London’s renowned weekly social media gathering, The Tuttle Club, which landed at the event and gave us the chance to get together with other internet bods.

An intimate tour of the city was polished off with a meet and greet session with Austin’s governor and other secretary of states.

And we attended plenty of master classes about doing business stateside, learned from top speakers and networked with high-profile companies at the trade stalls.

But it wasn’t all work. The Block Party gave us the chance to unwind and chill with fellow digital bosses.

And although the Great British Breakfast made us miss home, we were able to swap stories and meet investors, other companies and the press while munching on our bacon butties and scrambled eggs.

Take a look at what we got up to by visiting:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/dpivision/sets/72157615840620492/

You can also see an interview with Wladimir Baranoff-Rossine at the festival by visiting:

http://techfluff.tv/2009/03/17/techflufftv-sxsw-day-4/