NEWRY software firm First Derivatives has announced a new agreement with the European Space Agency (ESA) as part of the firm's advancement into the commercial space market.
The global technology specialist has signed a letter of intent with the ESA, based on its Kx technology.
Under the agreement, Kx and ESA’s Business Applications programme will work together to assist innovative start-ups seeking to use Kx technology as a platform technology for big data analytics in the commercial space market.
The agreement with ESA strengthens Kx’s presence in the space market, following recent announcements such as a collaboration agreement with Airbus.
Brian Conlon, chief executive officer of Kx said he was looking forward to working with ESA to support the development of commercial space applications.
“The commercial space market is flourishing, leading to increasing demand for advanced technologies such as Kx to analyse the data generated by the rapid growth in the number of satellites in orbit. Kx’s ultra-high performance capabilities are ideally suited to meet these challenges."
First Derivatives, whose head office is based at Canal Quay, employs over 1,750 staff and reported a 20 per cent increase in pre-tax profits to £12.5 million for the year ending February 27, 2017.
The financial technology company also saw a 30 per cent increase in revenue from £117 million to £151.7 million, aided by its Kx technology software division.
