KTP Case Study: Viper Innovations

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The Company

Since their foundation in 2007, Viper Innovations Ltd have provided innovative technology solutions within the oil and gas sector. Their technology-leading product, CableGuardian®, can monitor and identify the location of faults along cables and has helped Viper win several awards (2018 PwC SW Business of the Year, Queens Award for Enterprise, IET 2018 Intelligent Systems Innovation Award). Viper set out to transfer this success to new industry sectors, specifically rail, and sought collaboration with the University of the West of England (UWE) to innovate their market engagement models.

The Challenge

Viper recognised its technology had potential for sectors outside of subsea oil and gas, and a new opportunity in rail highlighted the need for a new market engagement model for the company.

Utilising the expertise from UWE, the project tackled the challenge of gaining visibility and credibility within the rail sector. UWE transferred the necessary knowledge to implement a sales and marketing plan for their CableGuardian product. Furthermore, through workshops and training sessions, staff at Viper Innovations were taught innovative methods, to secure future growth in various sectors both within the UK and globally.

“We would like to thank our Academic Partners at UWE for their invaluable contribution and dedication to this project. The KTP has proven to be an excellent vehicle for transferring and embedding a level of knowledge and understanding to the business”

Max Nodder, Business Development Director at Viper Innovations 

The Project

Fundamentally, the work of the team and knowledge exchange from UWE clarified the companies’ diversification strategy and, as a result, its future growth opportunity. Through extensive research of 29 market sectors across 18 countries, the project identified methods to optimise the CableGuardian routes to market. Furthermore, by taking a step change in its approach to product development, Viper now works a lot more closely with partners and stakeholders, which has ensured alignment to the needs of their clients, reduced development costs and time to market.

The Associate working on the project brought outstanding marketing skills and experience, and her proactive approach fuelled the success of the project. The KTP provided an opportunity for the Associate to conduct global research and produce journal articles which aided in her recruitment to an Associate Lecturer role at UWE.

Key Facts

  • Provided Viper’s employees with the knowledge to commercialise their technology in different markets
  • Led to collaborative testing with Network Rail
  • Established global visibility and brought an invitation to the Trade Mission to Malaysia, Singapore and Australia as well as leads from key organisations within the rail sector (AMEY, East West Rail, Alliance, Siemens, Alstom)

This partnership received financial support from the Knowledge Transfer Partnerships programme (KTP).  KTP aims to help businesses to improve their competitiveness and productivity through the better use of knowledge, technology and skills that reside within the UK knowledge base.  This successful Knowledge Transfer Partnership project, funded by UK Research and Innovation through Innovate UK, is part of the government’s Industrial Strategy.

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