IT'S all change for one Southampton company at the beginning of September when the Parallel Applications Centre changes its name to become the IT Innovation Centre.

Set up in 1991, managing director Dr Colin Upstill said the company's business had changed dramatically and as a firm at the leading edge of change and innovation it was time to rename the organisation.

Based at the Chilworth Science Park Mr Upstill said that in 1991 the company was set up to work in the field of parallel computing technology but this has now changed.

"We are a systems engineering and consultancy business dedicated to the innovative application of information technology,'' he said.

"The skills and experience of our IT team has helped the company evolve as technology has moved on.''

He said that in the early days the focus was very much research orientated but although there is still an emphasis on research and development the company can now offer clients added services through innovative solutions.

"A good example of this is that work we have been doing with the Danish shipyard which builds the world's largest container ships,'' he said.

"Odense Steel Shipyards has a vast robot welding installation which is central to its productivity and we have provided a fault diagnosis solution for the equipment which has dramatically cut time lost because of robotic failure.''

He said that instead of calling in an expert, operators can track the source of the problem themselves and solve the problem using on-line expert knowledge.

Clients also include Abbey National, Lloyds TSB, Renault, Reuters and Unilever.

"The solutions are tailor-made and include expert advice on the integration of new technologies,'' said Mr Upstill. "IT Innovation works closely with its clients to ensure an effective transfer of knowledge.''

Converted for the new archive on 25 January 2001. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.