Techsimulater

A Message from Lord Pickles and Lord Blunkett, followed by Techsimulater's best practice article

The ability to listen and learn from one another has always been vital in parliament, in business and in most aspects of daily life. But at this particular moment in time, as national and global events continue to reiterate, it is uncommonly crucial that we forge new channels of communication and reinforce existing ones. The following article from Techsimulater is an attempt to do just that. We would welcome your thoughts on this or any other Parliamentary Review article.

The Rt Hon Lord David Blunkett, MP

The Rt Hon Lord Eric Pickles, MP

THE PARLIAMENTARY REVIEW

Highlighting best practice

22 | TECHSIMULATER

Khurram Asif, CEO

The launch of Heelo, TechSimulater’s

flagship product

In 2011, 11-year-old Khurram Asif started a YouTube channel

which compared and examined various pieces of consumer

technology, while breaking down the hardware specifications

into easily digestible and valuable information. After concerns

about the growth of this model, he turned his eye to a new

pursuit: the manufacture, assembly and shipping of custom-

built computers. In his first year, he shipped 37,000 units and

generated the capital to once more change the immediate

future of the company. Since 2014, TechSimulater has focused

primarily on software, app and web development, having been

contracted by the likes of Rovio and Qatar Airways thanks to its

specialised yet malleable skillset and outlook.

Our journey over the last seven years has been spectacular. The inspiration and

drive to develop apps on such a scale has been a thing of the past two or three

years; in 2016, we stopped selling custom computers to really concentrate on

what we considered to be more important. We now have nine full-time employees

operating from an office in Milton Keynes, and an astounding network of contacts

considering our size and age. Contracts with Rovio and Qatar Airways in particular

have been unreal accolades over the past four years, and the development of Heelo

has been our most successful project to date.

A two-channel operation

Custom-made software and website development, though something we are

undoubtedly interested in, has taken a back seat for us behind apps. We have two

FACTS ABOUT

TECHSIMULATER

»CEO: Khurram Asif

»Established in 2011

»Based in Milton Keynes

»Services: App, web and

software development

»No. of employees: 11

»Clients include Qatar Airways

and Rovio

»Heelo is one of the only

platforms of its kind that can

be used in every country in the

world

»www.techsimulater.com

TechSimulater

23TECHSIMULATER |

BEST PRACTICE REPRESENTATIVE 2018

channels we mainly work through:

contract work and our own projects.

For clients, we develop high-quality

custom apps to support their

business, tailored to incredibly high

specifications. TechSimulater projects,

however, divert almost entirely from

that methodology; we typically take

existing models and improve on them.

For example, with Heelo, we took

WhatsApp and identified flaws and

issues consumers had expressed with

the model, resolved them and then

marketed it directly towards the

corporate sector. This is one of two key

demographics we focus on, the other

being teenagers and young adults

between 13 and 25, which can be seen

in another project, DrugFreeTaste.com.

While Silicon Valley seems to be

where most of this new software and

app development originates, we at

TechSimulater, and I personally, want

to change things. There is not a lot of

new, original British technology; with

London as a global hub for finance and

business and with many British young

people working in our industry, there

is a chance that we could see similar

expansion here in the future. All of our

apps and software are put together on

British soil, and it is something we are

incredibly passionate about.

Beyond that, we all share and believe in

one philosophy when it comes to our

actual working process: looking at the

simplicity of things. As new technology

develops, we naturally see greater

complexity. Inspired by figures in the

sector like Steve Jobs, we work tirelessly

to ensure all TechSimulater projects

are as straightforward and streamlined

as possible. It’s the second major

sentiment that contributes to our three-

part ethos: connect the world, keep

things simple and create British tech.

Heelo and DrugFreeTaste.com

Heelo is the first social network platform

that focuses almost entirely around

video calling. Where platforms like

Skype and WhatsApp offer somewhat

limited services in this capacity, Heelo is

aimed at the corporate sector, provides

higher-resolution video and allows up

to 16 people on a single call in full HD.

It is by no means an overly complex

app; it functions in a manner similar to

other instant messaging platforms and

has an aesthetic not too different from

both WhatsApp and Viber. Much like

Skype, however, Heelo requires you

to create a username and add other

contacts for audio call, video call and

instant message services. While already

available on the App Store, Heelo

will be released in full for Android in

November. We offer continual support

for Heelo and see that it uses 234

kilobytes of data fewer per second

than WhatsApp. Finally, whereas a lot

of VOIP programs are banned in places

such as Dubai, Heelo can be used in

every single country around the world.

DrugFreeTaste.com, however, is

a massively different venture. We

established the website to offer truly

alcohol-free beverages for the growing

number of teenagers moving away

from drinking. Most typical products

advertised as free-from alternatives

do typically still possess a minute

percentage of alcohol. The platform

enables those who want to try these

Heelo in action at the

event in March

For clients, we

develop high-

quality custom

apps to

support their

business,

tailored to

incredibly high

specifications

“

THE PARLIAMENTARY REVIEW

Highlighting best practice

24 | TECHSIMULATER

drinks for the taste to do exactly that,

while also accommodating ethnic and

religious groups, such as Muslims,

who cannot drink. It’s a way to try

these products for the experience

and culture without compromising

personalprinciples.

Expansion, difficulties and

new frontiers

Over the past few years, we have

established partnerships with a lot

of companies, in spite of whether or

not they have previously developed

apps, websites or software with us.

Generally, we like to expand and grow

through word of mouth, and let our

products and service speak for us.

Client referral has been a massive help

in this regard. We do also operate

targeted marketing campaigns online

to get suitable clients for whom we

know we can deliver – our excellence

and flexibility has been a key factor.

For a large portion of TechSimulater’s

early history, I worked more or less

alone. Having only turned 18 this year,

I have found that sometimes there

has been a negative response to my

age and the fact that our company is

small, new and young. We do always,

however, relish the opportunity to

show clients our quality by undertaking

important contracts and delivering

everything they want.

The biggest struggle for TechSimulater,

however, has undoubtedly been

funding. Every day on the news, we

see billions of dollars flying around

in the tech industry; acquiring even a

minuscule percentage of that, though,

or similar investment, is beyond

difficult. Establishing a solid network

and creating convincing pitches has

been a tough element of this, and,

often, funding from previous contracts

did not prove to be enough for

expansion at a desired rate.

The future, however, is bright. In the

next five years, we want to be seriously

researching and developing three new

frontiers: robotics, artificial intelligence

and virtual reality. We do want to

continue delivering excellent software

and service for clients, as we do now,

but diversification and expansion into

cutting-edge and exciting industry

areas are processes that we are all

passionate about at TechSimulater.

Diversification

and expansion

into cutting-

edge and

exciting

industry areas

are processes

that we are all

passionate

about at

TechSimulater

“

Part of the team at

Heelo’s launch event

The Parliamentary Review Publication, in which this article originally appeared, contained the following foreword from the prime minister.

The Rt Hon Theresa May MP's Foreword For The Parliamentary Review

By The Rt Hon Theresa May MP

British politics provides ample material for analysis in the pages of The Parliamentary Review. For Her Majesty’s Government, our task in the year ahead is clear: to achieve the best Brexit deal for Britain and to carry on our work to build a more prosperous and united country – one that truly works for everyone.

The right Brexit deal will not be sufficient on its own to secure a more prosperous future for Britain. We also need to ensure that our economy is ready for what tomorrow will bring. Our Modern Industrial Strategy is our plan to do that. It means Government stepping up to secure the foundations of our productivity: providing an education system that delivers the skills our economy needs, improving school standards and transforming technical education; delivering infrastructure for growth; ensuring people have the homes they need in the places they want to live. It is all about taking action for the long-term that will pay dividends in the future.

But it also goes beyond that. Government, the private sector and academia working together as strategic partners achieve far more than we could separately. That is why we have set an ambitious goal of lifting UK public and private research and development investment to 2.4 per cent of GDP by 2027. It is why we are developing four Grand Challenges, the big drivers of social and economic change in the world today: harnessing artificial intelligence and the data revolution; leading in changes to the future of mobility; meeting the challenges of our ageing society; and driving ahead the revolution in clean growth. By focusing our efforts on making the most of these areas of enormous potential, we can develop new exports, grow new industries and create more good jobs in every part of our country.

Years of hard work and sacrifice from the British people have got our deficit down by over three quarters. We are building on this success by taking a balanced approach to public spending. We are continuing to deal with our debts, so that our economy can remain strong and we can protect people’s jobs, and at the same time we are investing in vital public services, like our NHS. We have set out plans to increase NHS funding annually by an average by 3.4 percent in real terms: that is £394 million a week more. In return, the NHS will produce a ten-year plan, led by doctors and nurses, to eliminate waste and improve patient care.

I believe that Britain can look to the future with confidence. We are leaving the EU and setting a new course for prosperity as a global trading nation. We have a Modern Industrial Strategy that is strengthening the foundations of our economy and helping us to seize the opportunities of the future. We are investing in the public services we all rely on and helping them to grow and improve. Building on our country’s great strengths – our world-class universities and researchers, our excellent services sector, our cutting edge manufacturers, our vibrant creative industries, our dedicated public servants – we can look towards a new decade that is ripe with possibility. The government I lead is doing all it can to make that brighter future a reality for everyone in our country.

British politics provides ample material for analysis in the pages of The Parliamentary Review

The Rt Hon Theresa May MP
Prime Minister