Thanks for visiting our Start Software blog. Follow the blog to keep in touch with news and developments from Start Software, the developers of Alpha Tracker, Alpha Legal and more!
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| Microsoft have resolved all of their Azure cloud problems |
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| We're in good company, many organisations are being affected |
We’ve just hit an incredible milestone — our 100,000th support ticket has landed!
That’s 100,000 times our customers have reached out with questions, ideas, or requests — and 100,000 opportunities for our support team to help, learn, and make Alpha Tracker, Alpha Legal, ecoScribe and all our other systems even better.
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| 1,000,000 grateful customers (well, most of them...) |
Every ticket tells a story: a new project getting started, a clever feature being used in a new way, or a challenge that helped us improve our software. We’re genuinely grateful for every message, call, and support request that’s come our way over the years. Without your feedback and patience, we couldn’t keep making our systems as powerful and reliable as they are today.
Our support heroes handle everything from “how do I…” to “help, it’s all on fire!” - and they do it with professionalism, good humour, and an impressive amount of coffee. Reaching 100,000 tickets is a testament to their dedication and the relationships they’ve built with customers across the UK and beyond.
If 100,000 tickets got us here, we can only imagine what the next 100,000 will bring. More innovation, faster responses, smarter systems — and, no doubt, the occasional head-scratcher that keeps things interesting.
At this rate, we might even start placing bets on when ticket number 1,000,000 will arrive…
Thank you for being part of our journey — here’s to the next big milestone! 🚀
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| Yet another AI-generated blog image |
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| Jack, the Alpha Software team (via Teams), and Dan |
Birmingham Tech Week was buzzing with ideas, innovation and some very clever uses of artificial intelligence — so of course, we couldn’t resist joining in. Andrew and I spent the day at the ICC for the AI Symposium, part of this year’s Quantum Leap series of events, learning from industry leaders and sharing how AI is already shaping the work we do at Start Software and CTT.
Our day began at Birmingham New Street, where the ever-impressive Ozzy the Bull (fresh from the Commonwealth Games) gave us a suitably dramatic welcome. I couldn’t resist giving him a new accessory — my Birmingham Tech Week badge. He wore it with pride.
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| Ozzy pre-AI modification |
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| Ozzy with his pass! |
The city itself looked fantastic under autumn skies — from the sleek curves of Grand Central to the golden crown of the Library of Birmingham, Birmingham’s mix of heritage and modern design made a great backdrop for a week celebrating technology.
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| The Town Hall |
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| The sun was shining on the event |
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| Birmingham Library |
Inside the ICC, the energy was palpable. The exhibition area showcased everything from VR headsets to cutting-edge data visualisation tools, and the AI Symposium featured some genuinely insightful discussions. It was standing-room-only at times, with experts debating the ethics, opportunities and challenges of machine learning in the workplace.
Agentic AI again was a key focus - as was security - themes repeating from the World Summit AI in Amsterdam two weeks ago.
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| Inside the impressive ICC |
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| Should have gone to Specsavers |
For us at Start Software, AI is more than just a buzzword. It’s already integrated into our products — helping clients work smarter and faster:
Alpha Tracker uses automation and smart data processing to simplify compliance and asbestos management.
Alpha Legal keeps legal professionals secure and efficient with AI-driven document checks and smart communication tools.
ecoScribe harnesses speech recognition and natural language processing to turn complex survey data into structured reports in seconds.
Seeing so many companies exploring AI’s potential was inspiring — and it’s clear that the Midlands is fast becoming a real hub for innovation.
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| The panel gathers |
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| Andrew front-and-centre (as always!) |
We left Birmingham Tech Week with plenty of ideas (and a slightly sore neck from looking up at Ozzy). Huge thanks to the organisers for such a well-run and thought-provoking event.
If you’d like to learn how AI is already improving workflows in Alpha Tracker, Alpha Legal or ecoScribe, get in touch — we’d love to show you what’s possible.
(post by Robin Bennett)
It's time for the next Global Asbestos Forum and asbestos software Alpha Tracker is a sponsor with Robin, Kim & Catherine all attending. AI will be the theme - and so we asked AI to create the text and images for this post!
Start Software’s CEO Robin will be speaking at the Global Asbestos Forum 2025 in Bergen, Norway, next month.
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| Robin's hair is this grey - AI got it spot-on |
One of the themes this year is Artificial Intelligence, and Robin will be showcasing a number of real-world AI tools we’ve developed alongside asbestos software Alpha Tracker to help asbestos professionals work faster, safer, and smarter.
From automating data capture to intelligent risk assessment and report QC (checking the quality of final asbestos reports), these innovations are already saving analysts and surveyors hours each week — and Robin will be demonstrating them live on stage.
“AI isn’t for tomorrow,” says Robin. “It’s solving everyday problems for asbestos consultants right now — and this session will show exactly how.”
The Global Asbestos Forum is an annual gathering of industry leaders, researchers, and technology innovators from around the world. It’s a brilliant opportunity to connect, learn, and see how the asbestos industry is evolving with the help of new technology.
📅 When: 13 & 14 November 2025
📍 Where: Bergen, Norway
🎟️ Registration: https://www.globalasbestosforum.org/conference/
If you work in asbestos consultancy, compliance, or technology, this is one event you shouldn’t miss.
Alpha Tracker specialists Kim & Catherine will also be at the conference showing some of the new AI features. Come and find them on the asbestos software Alpha Tracker exhibition stand.
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| Kim & Catherine? Not sure! But at least it's our stand (it's actually Judy) |
Book your place now and see how AI is already reshaping asbestos management for the better. You'll also get to visit the wonderful Bergen, Norway!
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| Alpha Tracker at the Global Asbestos Forum, Bergen |
We’ve loved hosting our remote Alpha developer, Fatbardh, who flew in from Kosovo with his fiancée, Fortesa, for his first-ever UK trip.
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| Fatbardh in our Telford HQ |
After 12 months of coding brilliance on Start’s Alpha-based platforms (including projects such as OERCA, Greenfield and OnTarget) , it was wonderful to finally swap video calls for real coffee and conversation.
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| Jamie, Lucas, Zac, Fatbardh & Melika in today's AI meeting |
Over the past year, Fatbardh has helped us move faster and smarter on all of our Alpha Anywhere-based software platforms including OERCA, Greenfield, OnTarget and Alpha Tracker (Start’s cloud-based platform used by asbestos surveying, water hygiene, environmental and compliance teams). From performance tweaks to UI polish and sprint support, he’s been a calm, capable presence in our stand-ups and releases.
First UK steps—and a hop to World Summit AI As part of the visit, Fatbardh also made it to World Summit AI in Amsterdam. Conferences are great for perspective, and this one underscored a few themes we care about: practical AI to augment developer workflows, responsible data use, and MLOps that keeps experimentation measurable. Expect to see those ideas inform how we prototype features and test quality in Alpha Tracker over the coming months.
We wrapped the visit with a team lunch at Hickory’s—a proper chance to say thank you. It’s amazing how breaking bread together accelerates trust. Conversations that would take weeks to unfold online happened in an hour over ribs and fries.
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| Adam, Melika, Catherine, Lucas, Fortesa, Fatbardh, Zac, Jamie & Jack (Dan & Robin were paying the bill!) |
- Plan purposeful in-person time: We combined the visit with a roadmap workshop and sprint retrospective so decisions stuck.
- Pair programming in bursts: Two-hour pairing blocks helped ship tricky fixes and share patterns faster than a week of comments.
- Bring the customer voice closer: Shadowing our support desk gave live insight into how our clients use features day-to-day.
- Make space for life: Including Fortesa in socials reminded us that strong teams are built around people, not just projects.
Before heading back, Fatbardh and Fortesa are squeezing in a quick trip to Edinburgh via Shrewsbury and Telford. Then it’s wheels up and back to Kosovo, with fresh ideas, full notebooks, and a lot of new inside jokes.
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| Fatbardh & Fortesa outside their luxury Shrewsbury hotel (yes, OK, it's a Premier Inn!) |
Thank you, Fatbardh (and thank you, Fortesa!). Safe travels and see you back in our stand-ups. We’re grateful for the impact you’ve had on our Alpha team and excited for what’s next as we keep improving the platform for the teams who rely on it every day.
We welcomed our partners from FLS VISITOUR to the Alpha Tracker UK HQ in Telford this week.
The teams came together for a lively, in person catch up with great conversation, shared ideas, and, yes, sandwiches and cakes to keep the energy up. The focus: how our partnership is helping organisations schedule smarter and make life better for the people doing the work out in the field.
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| The Alpha Tracker and FLS VISITOUR teams |
The visit was all about collaboration and innovation, strengthening our partnership and reviewing the AI-powered scheduling integration that connects FLS VISITOUR’s intelligent technology with Alpha Tracker’s open, flexible platform. Together, we’re helping asbestos, environmental and compliance businesses plan smarter, faster, and greener.
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| James from FLS joins the Alpha Tracker team remotely - nice squidgy van, too |
FLS VISITOUR’s technology uses artificial intelligence to deliver real-time, optimised scheduling. It automatically assigns the right person, with the right skills and equipment, to every job — and dynamically adjusts as priorities change.
This kind of intelligent scheduling is transforming how field teams operate, especially for organisations managing hundreds of asbestos surveys, environmental assessments or compliance visits each week. When combined with Alpha Tracker’s project management and reporting tools, the result is a seamless, data-driven workflow from instruction to completion.
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| Alpha Tracker CTO Jack and Simon from FLS reviewing the live data integration between Alpha Tracker and VISITOUR |
During the visit, Jack demonstrated the two-way data flow between Alpha Tracker and FLS VISITOUR.
When a new project/appointment is created in Alpha Tracker, it appears instantly in VISITOUR, where the intelligent engine gets to work building the most efficient schedule. Completed visits and updates then flow back automatically, keeping every team in sync without manual intervention.
This integration exemplifies Alpha Tracker’s commitment to openness and connectivity ensuring our clients can link effortlessly to the tools they already trust.
PS watch the recording of our Alpha Tracker/FLS webinar here: https://alpha-tracker.co.uk/webinars or on YouTube: https://youtu.be/m-dqw8f3E0Q
Yesterday, Kim, Lucas and Melika from the Alpha Tracker asbestos team were delighted to visit our charity partner, Mesothelioma UK— an inspiring organisation that provides specialist support, information and improved care for those living with mesothelioma, a cancer caused by asbestos exposure.
It was a fascinating and educational day full of learning, collaboration and some memorable moments with “Tommy Torso”, who made quite the impression during the team’s anatomy session!
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| Alpha Tracker specialist Kim with Lucas & Melika (and Tommy) |
The visit gave us a valuable insight into the incredible work Mesothelioma UK does — from raising awareness and funding research, to providing expert nursing support across the UK. Their passion for making a real difference shone through in every conversation.
We also had a chance to explore their headquarters, see their campaign displays, and learn more about the impact of asbestos-related disease on individuals and families. It was a moving reminder of why Alpha Tracker is so proud to support Mesothelioma UK as our chosen charity partner.
A huge thank you to the Mesothelioma UK team for such a warm welcome — and for sharing so much knowledge and inspiration with us.
You can read more about our partnership with Mesothelioma UK here on our blog and find out how Alpha Tracker is helping the asbestos industry work more safely and efficiently on our website.
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| 4,000 chairs ready to be filled (and 8,632 people actually attended!) |
The Start Software team headed to Amsterdam for this year’s World Summit AI — two days of ideas, debate, and discovery. We went to learn, connect and invent, and we came back with new insights, connections, and practical takeaways to improve how our products work for real people. From agentic AI and human-in-the-loop design to transparency and security, the themes map directly onto what we build every day in Alpha Tracker, Alpha Legal, ecoScribe and roadvlog. Our goal is simple: use AI to amplify creativity and productivity while keeping people firmly in control.
Two special people joined our group. Legacy Software Manager Mickey from our partner CTT Group, and Start's remote developer Fatbardh — our first chance to meet Fatbardh in person. Trips like this deepen partnerships and help us align product roadmaps with the challenges our clients are facing right now.
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| Jack & Catherine walking into the venue |
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| The message was clear - AI should be used to amplify creavity and make the most of our time |
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| Lucas, Melika & Jack at an Agentic AI booth - a theme of the event |
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| Start Software are an AWS partner - so we borrowed their both for the group photo! |
“Seeing how others weave AI into live business systems — not just labs — pushes our thinking forward. Our challenge now is translating that into wins for our clients.”
— Robin
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| It's about time - and interesting cars! |
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| Our 24x7 Support didn't stop just because we were away |
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| Melika networking with an AI translation business - we service clients worldwide |
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| We have been creating and using Digital Twin for nearly two years! |
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| "AI First" - Robin wishes he had the copyright! |
Across many talks, one phrase kept returning — “AI First”. For us, it means thinking with AI from the outset, not bolting it on at the end. In practice that looks like: designing data models that support explainability; building features that are auditable; and ensuring that agents work within clear human limits. Begin with purpose, start small, measure outcomes and scale thoughtfully — it’s how we ship reliable AI into production systems.
We’re already applying conference lessons across the suite:
“Every new idea has to pass a simple test: does it help people — or just intrigue engineers?”
— Dan
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| The Norwegian Dawn drifting by |
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| Zac was seriously fast! |
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| Most of the Start Software team were at the event |
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| Karen Hao's "Empire of AI" book - a troubling read |
We’ll be presenting an AI session at Alpha Software Dev Day on 18 November 2025 — sharing what we’ve learned and demonstrating how to design human-in-the-loop systems using Alpha’s tools.
See Alpha Software’s events page for details. Expect practical examples you can take back to your own apps: agentic workflows with oversight, explainable outputs and patterns for responsible automation.
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| Robin, Catherine, Dan, Lucas, Mickey, Jack, Zac, Melika, James & Fatbardh |
Human-led. Agent-operated. AI-first. Transparent.
#WorldSummitAI #StartSoftware #AlphaTracker #AlphaLegal #ecoScribe #AI #HumanInTheLoop #Amsterdam #AlphaDevDay2025
We’re delighted to share that Start Software - Start Technology (Software) Ltd - has once again passed our ISO9001 (Quality Management) and ISO27001 (Information Security) surveillance audit — with flying colours!
The audit was managed expertly by Catherine, with valuable support from our ISO consultant Kieran. Our auditor, Chris, carried out the full-day assessment remotely (screenshot proof below!) and confirmed that we continue to meet the high standards expected for both certifications.
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| Robin, looking confused (as usual), Kieran pulling a face, Catherine & Chris |
At Start Software, our ISO certifications aren’t just certificates on the wall (or our websites, see here and here) — they’re part of how we run the business every day. Maintaining rigorous quality and information security processes helps us to:
continuously improve the software and services we provide to our customers (such as Alpha Tracker)
ensure our systems and data remain safe and secure
deliver consistent, reliable results that our clients can depend on.
A huge well done to the whole team, and especially to Catherine for steering us smoothly through another successful audit.
Our commitment to quality, security and customer service remains at the heart of everything we do — and this latest audit result shows that dedication in action.
We’ve really enjoyed having Serenna with us at our Telford office this week!
Serenna is an Open University student studying Software Development, and she joined us for a week of work experience to get a feel for what life is like in a busy software company.
During her time with the Start Software team, Serenna got involved in all sorts of activities — from spending time on our support desk, sitting in on developer meetings, and even speaking directly with clients. She quickly got to grips with how we support our users and keep our systems running smoothly… and she even took a few support calls herself (and did brilliantly!).
Throughout the week, Melika was Serenna’s mentor, helping her settle in and guiding her through the different areas of our work — from coding to customer support.
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| Serenna and Melika, helping a client |
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| Serenna, Melika & Development Team Leader Dan |
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| Serenna and Support Desk lead Zac |
It’s always great to see the next generation of software developers gaining real-world experience, and we hope her time with us has been both useful and inspiring.
Thanks for joining us, Serenna — and best of luck with the rest of your studies!
The TYSR team are completing their remote Alpha Tracker training today with Kim, learning how to make the most of their new asbestos lab management system — from sample tracking and chain of custody, through to lab reporting, quality control and dashboards.
And of course, no Alpha Tracker training session would be complete without the traditional selfie — here’s Robin’s shot featuring Kim and the TYSR team joining via screenshare!
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| Robin sticking his (big) nose into Kim's training session |
TYSR Analysis Limited are part of the respected Asbestos Sampling group — known across the UK for helping businesses and property managers bring asbestos sampling and testing in-house.
Their laboratories provide fast, professional asbestos analysis and are focused on accuracy, compliance and turnaround speed — values that perfectly align with the way we designed Alpha Tracker for asbestos labs.
Through their online platform, they supply asbestos testing kits, laboratory services, and training courses, all aimed at improving safety and efficiency in asbestos management.
At Alpha Tracker, we’re proud to support many of the UK’s leading asbestos laboratories and environmental consultancies. Our software helps automate every stage of the process — from sample registration and tracking, to UKAS-compliant reporting and client communication.
Key benefits of Alpha Tracker for asbestos labs include:
Seamless sample tracking from field to lab
Full chain of custody for compliance and auditing
Integrated report templates and certificate generation
Custom dashboards for productivity and turnaround monitoring
Secure, cloud-based access from any location
You can find out more in these recent posts:
We’re really excited to see how TYSR Analysis Limited will use Alpha Tracker to streamline their asbestos testing workflows and strengthen their quality management.
Welcome aboard, TYSR — and thanks for joining the growing community of labs and consultancies who trust Alpha Tracker as their asbestos lab software of choice. We can’t wait to see what you achieve with it!