Glasgow-based Bellrock Technology has appointed Steve Langmead as its chair and welcomed £1 million of funding from its investors.

The cash injection has allowed the firm to double its workforce to 16 as it works on the next version of its Lumen software due for release this year. The platform speeds up data analytics to save costs and enable businesses to make more informed decision making.

Langmead, a long-standing advisor to the company, is also chair of Stirling-based care sector disruptor Time For You Care and a director of Edinburgh telecoms firm Commsworld. At Bellrock, he replaces David Sigsworth, who is also chair of Sigma Capital.

He said: “Bellrock Technology is a significant part of the future of data science. Its Lumen software product stands on the threshold of delivering revolutionary change across all sectors – healthcare, oil and gas, public sector, manufacturing and finance – when it comes to data science and the speed, scale and cost of its deployment.

“It can deliver high-quality data science in minutes and hours, compared to existing methods that take weeks and months. Saving companies significant costs whilst improving their speed and effectiveness of decision making.”

Bellrock was founded by chief executive Adam Brown and chief technology officer Professor Stephen McArthur, on whose research Lumen is based. It was spun out from the University of Strathclyde’s Institute for Energy and Environment in 2012.

The university remains one of three long-term investors, along with the Scottish Investment Bank and Stirling-based ESM Investments, whose owner Steven Morris is on the Bellrock Technology board.

Clients include energy giants EDF, which uses Lumen to improve the monitoring of its UK nuclear reactors, and SSE, which employs it to identify potential faults early in its Power Distribution and Renewables arms.

Langmead said: “I believe Bellrock Technology has the opportunity to become a pivotal player in a huge range of sectors, not just energy but financial services, oil and gas, smart cities and smart manufacturing. It provides a golden opportunity for companies to transform their data operations.”