City firm in Microsoft link

MARK TAYLOR/Waikato Times

PARTNERSHIP: From left, NetValue's Stuart Inglis, left, Alex Shepard and John Cleary, with their team at back.

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Microsoft has entered into a partnership that will be worth millions of dollars to Hamilton software development company NetValue.

The software giant has chosen the four-year-old London St firm, which employs 40 staff, for its high-performance computing, life sciences and high potential managed independent software vendor partner programmes, as NetValue launches human genome mapping software called Slim Search today.

NetValue is the first New Zealand company to get such status.

NetValue chief executive Graham Gaylard, speaking from the US ahead of the launch at a New York trade fair, said his company's high-speed genomic search technologies combined with Microsoft's High Performance Computer Server platform were a critical component for the next generation of DNA search and analysis.

He said the new software eliminated the need for clusters of supercomputers in high performance research centres and could be installed on one PC.

Mr Gaylard, who is one of a handful of Hamilton shareholders, said the partnership, which included Microsoft training, gave NetValue instant international credibility.

"Given we are the only one with such status in New Zealand, then we will get a competitive advantage from that alone.

"I don't want to take the credit for this," said Mr Gaylard. "I am only the CEO."

The software, developed by fellow shareholder Dr Stuart Inglis, Dr Leonard Bloksberg and Prof John Cleary, cost hundreds of thousands of dollars to develop and will be used by doctors to make diagnosis.

Those using it will pay $US50,000 per year.

Today's announcement puts NetValue on the same peg as around 400 international companies, and will provide the impetus for company expansion.

"We are feeling pretty chuffed about it," Mr Gaylard said.

"In two or three years we hope to have 50 or 60 people working in R&D in Hamilton and a marketing company in the US employing five or six people, including me."

Microsoft spokesman Dave Rayner, based in Auckland, said the partnership was all about NetValue networking with other Microsoft partners and benefitting from the software giant's marketing machine overseas.

"From their perspective it's an opportunity to get their technology around the world," Mr Rayner said.

He could not say when, or if, another New Zealand business would be made a Microsoft partner.

- © Fairfax NZ News