INNOVATIVE RESPONSE TO RECESSION

The fledgling Irish software company,  Artbox, has hardly noticed the recession. Established just six months ago, Artbox has already secured initial funding from British investors for its gallery manager system, landed a number of customers and been designated a “high potential start-up” by Enterprise Ireland.
The company has secured contracts with Irish art galleries for the software management system which allows them to handle everything from their invoices to shipping to security through a central system that is hosted on the internet. The founder of the company, Philip Meagher, is already looking outside Ireland to potential customers in the UK and the United States. “There is a lot of interest from international galleries because it solves a lot of problems for them,” he said.
Meagher came up with the idea for Artbox while working with the Leinster Gallery in Dublin. Most management systems were made for PCs but most galleries used Apple computers so Meagher spotted an opportunity and developed Artbox Gallery Manager. Because it is web-based, galleries can access all their information from any location.