ConnectTxt

7 September 2005

For 27,000 parents, a reminder of an upcoming teacher training day, or a message that a school trip is returning late could soon arrive instantly by text message, thanks to Leeds-based communication company Cy-nap Ltd.

Cy-nap has closed a deal worth 10′s of thousands of pounds over the next few years to provide Sheffield schools with the technology to send text messages to any combination of students ranging from individuals to whole schools. Currently 95 per cent of people with school-age children have a mobile phone.

Typical uses for the system, known as edutxt, range from informing parents of unauthorised absences, reminders of school trips and parents’ evenings to information about emergency school closures.

edutxt has already been installed in a number of other educational institutions including Leeds Metropolitan University, Wakefield College, Leeds Grammar school and Hull School of Art and Design. Feedback has been encouraging with a high percentage of parents and students saying communication has improved.

Cy-nap was set up in 2001 and now has over 60 contracts with universities and colleges across the UK. In its early days Cy-nap’s development received a boost from Connect Yorkshire, the regional organisation which primes technology businesses for the next stage of development.

Cy-nap attended Connect Yorkshire’s Investment Forum in 2002, where they had the opportunity to present their business plan to an audience of venture capitalists, business angels and other investors.

Cy-nap’s managing director Steve McCann said: ?Connect provides a valuable service for any technology firm in an early stage of development. It enables you to understand what investors are looking for, and is a great way to get your face known.

“The deal with Sheffield LEA is excellent news for Cy-nap, certainly in terms of technology Sheffield are a very forward thinking authority, and we looking forward to working with them. Future developments will include the integration of an electronic message board which allows parents to see a list of all the communications with the school on a digital television.”

“The main advantage of edutxt from a school’s point of view is that it improves communication with parents and saves a considerable amount of staff time and money. In a school of 200 pupils a three minute call to a mobile or landline would take over 10 hours and cost around £44. edutxt messages cost 9p each, costing a total of £18, and takes about 10 minutes to complete.”

Connect Yorkshire’s executive director Nick Butler said: “We are delighted with Cy-Nap’s success. Seeing a company grow and succeed is what Connect Yorkshire is all about.”

Details of Connect’s Investment Forum and other programmes are available on www.connectyorkshire.org.

For further press information contact Kate Pell at Cicada Public Relations Limited on 01423 567111 or email kate@cicada-pr.com.

edutxt is a brand of Cy-nap Ltd, the company was established in January 2001 and is the result of over 14 years of innovation within the technology market.

The company specializes in high quality text message applications for the public sector especially in healthcare and in education. edutxt® is used extensively in schools, colleges and universities to communicate with students and parents. meditxt® has been developed specifically for use in hospitals, clinics and surgeries and is used for appointment reminders and to deliver test results.