Technology Entrepreneur backs CommonTime, a UK wireless email success story

Richard Cunningham, the business guru behind the Vodafone acquisition of Project Telecom for 165m cash, backs CommonTime, a UK wireless email and mobile application provider. Derby-based CommonTime is an IBM Business Partner which successfully exports over 65% of itís technology and possesses over 300,000 installations worldwide of itís mobile Lotus Notes and applications solution

In the fable of David and Goliath, a different type of ëover-the-airí solution brought Goliath crashing to the ground. It had nothing to do with wireless email, mobile business applications or Smartphones. In todayís hi tech world technology entrepreneurs cannot avoid the lure of mobile and wireless IT. Richard Cunningham, the businessman behind the Vodafone acquisition of Project Telecom for 165m cash, has backed the ëDavidí of the wireless email world in the form of CommonTime Limited. Wireless data journals are awash with tales of goliaths such as RIM Blackberry. However CommonTime, creators of original Lotus Notes wireless push email and mobile applications technology designed in Derby UK, until now, has flown under the radar of Analysts and other technorazzi.

Richard Cunningham, former Group Finance Director of Project Telecom plc, is confident of the future success of CommonTime, privately held since 1994, as his next venture and has been appointed as Chairman, with Co Founder Nigel Mackrill remaining at the operational helm as CEO.

Richard Cunningham is currently Chairman of 4 early stage technology companies and a consultant to Herald Ventures a leading early stage technology venture capital fund. In addition he is Chairman of OnRelay Ltd a Fixed Mobile integration software developer; i-nexus Ltd a developer of enterprise performance enhancement software; Octium Ltd an investor in IP based solutions for businesses and Griffin Information Systems a long-standing business facing ISP. Herald Ventures, part of Herald Investment Management the largest pure technology investors in Europe, invests in early stage technology businesses and Richard sits on its investment committee.

Richard joined Project Telecommunications Ltd as Joint Managing Director in 1991 shortly after its formation, then Group Finance Director of Project Telecom plc which was floated on the LSE in 2000. He was central to the companyís growth and acquisition in cash by Vodafone plc for 165m in September 2003. Previously Richard was a Vice President of Citicorp Investment Bank, specialising in European electronics and telecommunications having had experience in equity analysis and corporate finance at Citicorp Scrimgeour Vickers. He started his working life at Ratheon and then Texas Instruments having gained a BEng (Electrical and Electronic Engineering) from Bristol University.