Future Ticketing partners with NWRC and InterTradeIreland to develop innovative seating plan software

By Aoife Curran

Tullamore-based technology company, Future Ticketing, announced today the successful development of new innovative seating plan software, created by working in partnership with North West Regional College’s (NWRC) Business Support Centre (BSC) and InterTradeIreland’s Innovation Boost programme.

The cross-border collaborative project saw graduate Amrutha Ramanathan and NWRC XR Centre Manager Jim Murray, work on the development of a new seating plan design tool for the Future Ticketing platform.

This new functionality will be integrated into Future Ticketing’s already expansive suite of ticketing tools, allowing clients to design their own seating plans and end users to choose their own seats when purchasing tickets.

Jim Murray,  NWRC XR Centre Manager explained: ‘’We were contacted by InterTradeIreland Innovation Boost Consultant Jim Fitzsimons about an exciting innovation project with Future Ticketing. Together with Future Ticketing CEO Liam Holton we began discussing the project which led to us submitting an application. With the support of Innovation Boost Consultants Jim Fitzsimons and Dominic Mullan we undertook the 18-month project. The role was advertised, and we gained an excellent candidate in Amrutha Ramanathan who adapted to the challenges of the role. With the support of NWRC and Future Ticketing, Amrutha was able to develop seating plan software which allows the company to offer an entirely new service to their customers. With the new Seating Designer clients will be able to customise their seating plans and allow their customers to purchase reserve tickets and locations in real-time.

‘’The project has also allowed NWRC to expand and apply its knowledge in software development. This ensures that the college is up to date with the latest knowledge and teaching which will ensure our students have the best possible learning experience which will help them in their job searches.“

Mark Cotter, CTO,  Future Ticketing added: ‘’As the largest indigenous supplier of cloud-based ticketing  solutions in Ireland, our software platform is disrupting the ticketing market by putting event organisers in charge of their events and data giving them an end-to-end ticketing solution and 360 degree view of their customers.

‘’Prior to undertaking this innovative project, we had no in-system facility for seating plans and contracted this out via a third party solution. This function is fundamental to the overall package we can offer to our clients so partnering on this project with NWRC and InterTradeIreland and recruiting a graduate through the Innovation Boost programme to make this a reality, has been a fantastic experience for us.

‘’Initially, we discussed the project with InterTradeIreland and found that this would be an ideal collaborative approach providing both access to the consultancy expertise from NWRC and  funding towards employing a trained software developer. Over the 18th month duration of the project, Jim Murray (NWRC) provided invaluable support to our fantastic graduate Amrutha which we are delighted to say saw the creation our new seating plan software solution. We would not have achieved this without the support of NWRC and InterTradeIreland and I would encourage businesses looking to innovate to get in touch with InterTradeIreland or the college.”

Janet Toal, Operations Manager of Innovation Programmes at InterTradeIreland, said: “Innovation is fundamental for every business and we are delighted to have facilitated the cross-border collaboration between NWRC and Future Ticketing through Innovation Boost. At InterTradeIreland we support businesses across the island who are ready to implement change through collaborative sharing of expertise and skills.  The programme is open to applications and I would encourage any small business that may be interested to get in touch.”

For more information about Future Ticketing visit https://futureticketing.ie/ and for further details on how the BSC can help your business email businesssupport@nwrc.ac.uk or to find out more about the Innovation Boost programme see https://intertradeireland.com/innovation/innovation-boost