Thewink has a real eye when it comes to spotting big break

Published on Thursday 19 February 2004 00:00

OVER the last decade, the internet has become firmly ensconced as the communication tool of choice for modern business.

Most large companies and organisations have now set up their own intranet service providing staff with e-mail, as well as the latest information and announcements.

But although this age of advancing technology allows work to be completed with greater speed and efficiency, many small and medium-sized enterprises face being left behind.

Now an Edinburgh-based company aims to provide small firms with the same communication resources taken for granted by insurance giants and media empires around the world.

And its founders are confident that they offer intranet technology better than that of any multi-national.

"We believe this is the future of communication in business," says Anita Di Sotto, co-founder and marketing manager of thewink.com. "Our products are ahead of their time."

The company says that members who log on to thewink.com’s website can create a secure and efficient line of communication without fear that the information will be vulnerable to prying eyes.

Mrs Di Sotto set up the company with her husband, Dario, three years ago.

After two years of extensive development, the firm’s Winktranet Team product was put to the test by a number of companies who gave it the thumbs-up.

"My husband was working with high-profile blue chip companies in IT," says Mrs Di Sotto.

"He realised that there was a market out there for creating secure systems of communication for small and medium-sized companies.

"The product we have created allows a group of people to communicate together even if they are in different parts of the world."

Thewink.com was officially launched a year ago and has enjoyed considerable success, she adds. Its membership list now stretches to around 5000 companies.

Yearly subscription costs 250 and includes the provision of 100 megabytes of memory on a network protected by passwords.

Other companies and individuals can then be invited by the founding member to access the exclusive area and view its contents.

Based in offices on Annandale Street, near Leith Walk, thewink.com has three directors and uses the service of three London-based consultants who also contribute to the running of the website.

Mrs Di Sotto says she is "very excited" about the company’s prospects and the range of services it has to offer.

She adds: "As broadband becomes more and more available, people are beginning to realise that this is the future of communications.

"Many businesses have an intranet service which allows information to be posted which all staff members can see and, of course, they can communicate via e-mail.

"But an intranet takes a great deal of money to develop and it can take a long time as well. An intranet is an internal service but what we have created is an extranet."

She explains: "A member who has a company that joins thewink.com can then invite anyone they want to join too. Only those people who have been asked can get access. It is very simple to use and very cost effective.

"We have set up the extranet for them so they do not have to take the time and trouble to create something themselves. That is especially good for small and medium companies and allows them to compete with larger operations which have greater resources."

Despite the barriers put in place by companies to protect their information technology, websites and e-mail remain vulnerable.

Hackers committing industrial espionage or simply amusing themselves have breached the security of a range of prominent organisations, but thewink.com is designed to ensure that communication between any two parties is made as secure as possible.

"We don’t use e-mail," says Mrs Di Sotto. "This is the next step in communications.

"When you use e-mails, you are sending out a message over the internet, where there are so many places where it can be intercepted and read."

She adds: "There is also the danger of viruses being brought in by e-mails and spamming.

"Here the line of communication does not extend outside the group who are members. No-one else can intercept them or read them. It solves the problem of anyone spying through e-mails."

As well as the internal message service, the site allows users to take advantage of a variety of other tools including a bulletin board and an area to post photographs.

Files can also be placed by a group member on its site which are available to be downloaded by the other members only.

Mrs Di Sotto says: "The file sharing service can be extremely useful. If someone is on holiday abroad and they need to access their company files, they can look them up through thewink.com. That means anywhere in the world they are kept accessible for emergencies.

"That facility is also practical for crisis management. They always know they will have a protected line of communication to deal with any difficulties that arise."

Another string to the firm’s bow is a service dedicated to reducing the trials and tribulations of organising a wedding.

For anyone with relatives who are scattered across the country or even the globe, thewink.com has devised a means to keep them in touch with the latest preparations for the big day.

"Our Winktranet Wedding product can be used to link together all the guests who have been invited," says Mrs Di Sotto.

"It sends out a Save The Date card to the computer of everyone who has been invited. If they click on that, they become part of the network group and will receive all the information for the event.

"We only launched this service a few weeks ago but it has already proved to be popular."

Mrs Di Sotto is confident that thewink.com can stay ahead of the game and the company has a number of future projects under development.

The issue of youngsters using chat rooms has been a source of recent controversy with growing concerns that sites are used by paedophiles to "groom" their victims.

Indeed, there have now been 26 court cases involving child abuse directly linked to chat rooms in the UK alone.

Software giant Microsoft’s decision to pull the plug on its unmoderated MSN chat rooms in October last year triggered a global discussion on the matter.

Some 1.2 million people used MSN’s chat services, but the group closed all rooms except subscription-only services in the United States and free, monitored forums in Japan, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and Brazil.

But Mrs Di Sotto believes thewink.com may now offer the solution to the problem of paedophile predators surfing the web for victims.

The company is hoping to link up with an internet provider or mobile phone company to use its unique technology to safeguard youngsters.

"If children were using Winktranet products, then only their friends who have been asked to join could be part of any conversation," she says.

"We have also seen recent examples of playground bullies using chat rooms to continue their bullying.

"This would be another way of keeping them out and providing protection. I think thewink.com has a great future in this area."

Network that helps joined-up thinking

THEWINK.COM offers a number of suggestions for how companies, groups and individuals can benefit from its services.

Co-founder Anita Di Sotto cites the example of a specialist wine shop owner who wants a network to share information on the latest vintage arrivals or tasting evenings.

He can set up an "open network" where anyone who requests access can receive bulletins with the latest news, as well as give their own feedback.

Soon a discussion board would be up and running and the owner will have a network with his customers to keep in touch.

Mrs Di Sotto, who founded thewink.com along with her husband Dario, gives another example in the form of a teacher at a college who could create an online class network for her students to join.

General information, essay tips and homework submission dates could then be posted.

A calendar of events could be maintained and changed to alert the students of cancelled classes while they can also alert their teacher to any problems.

Since all the information would be stored in one place, it could be accessed more efficiently, while ensuring the data is secure.

For example, a charity fundraiser seeking to collect money could also establish an open network to aid their efforts, as people can find out how to donate money, then receive updates on the status of appeal to discover how it has been spent.