BT stands aside as ASP dies

NEWS The original backers, BT and Israeli-based digital print specialist Scitex, called a halt to their substantial investment in February last year and encouraged the management to seek third-party funding. Miranda Clegg, Vio managing director, spoke to silicon.com today as she went the rounds to inform the company's high-profile customers, including the Financial Times, Conde Nast, The Big Issue, the Daily Telegraph and M&C Saatchi, of the situation. She said: "It's not a good time to raise funds for technology companies - especially for a new technology type. Unfortunately, profit was a matter of years away and it would be even longer to get a return." Vio employs 58 staff worldwide, 700 core network users and 1,000 internet users. It provided software and networks to control the distribution of graphical images, including ads, around the world while maintaining print quality. A BT Ignite spokesman said that the telco has very few joint ASP deals and that it prefers to work in partnership with other software and services suppliers.