About Blackdot
We are Blackdot Solutions — creators of Videris investigations software. We help businesses tackle serious intelligence challenges.
The Blackdot Story
Blackdot was founded by Shaun O’Mahony, one of our non-executive directors. Having begun his career at Detica (now BAE Applied Intelligence). Shaun developed a strong interest in using online data to solve pressing real-life problems.
He realised that, whilst there was lots of software out there that helped organisations make sense of internal data, there was nothing that specialised in making sense of the wealth of external data available on the internet. We set about creating a product to change this and the first online investigations platform was created.
Blackdot soon became a small team, including Adam (now our Head of Product) and Alex (Head of Customer Success). Based in Cambridge, England, we grew the company organically by providing super fast, accurate risk consulting services using our ground-breaking software, Videris.
In 2015 Blackdot started selling Videris as a standalone product to government clients, where it proved instantly transformational. Since 2016 we have wound down our risk agency activities and focused solely on our software, expanding to other sectors. Videris quickly gained a reputation for being the best open source (“ OSINT”) investigations software available, and gained customers across the government, banking, corporate and professional services sectors. We invest heavily in improving and expanding Videris, releasing updated versions every couple of months.
Since 2018, Blackdot has taken on investment from experienced entrepreneurs and investors, who are committed to supporting the company and our customers as we bring the full power of software to making best possible use of the exploding volumes of open source data.
Blackdot has come a long way, but Videris has remained a one-of-a-kind product. You won’t have seen anything like it before and it will transform the way you conduct investigations
Our Team
Adam de Courcy Ling
Executive Chairman
Adam leads the company's strategy and operations. He is an experienced software sector investor and director. He was an investor and director in fintech software vendor Multifonds, sold in 2015 to Temenos AG, and lead investor and director at an artificial intelligence vendor, Expertmaker, sold in 2016 to eBay Inc. Prior to this, he was an M&A banker in the technology sector in Europe, as Head of European Technology M&A at Credit Suisse until 2003 and a partner at Arma Partners until 2010.
Dr. Adam Lawrance-Owen
Head of Product
Adam has been with Blackdot Solutions since its earliest days, and has taken a leading role in growing the company and developing our software. He leads Blackdot's product team, who set the strategic direction for Videris through a deep understanding of our customers and the market. Adam studied Natural Sciences at Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge before going on to complete a PhD in Experimental Psychology, also at Cambridge.
Mark Stevens
Head of Client Engagement
Mark leads Blackdot’s client engagement team, advising clients across the public and commercial sectors on how they can improve their investigative capabilities through the use of technology and data. Mark’s team also supports clients through their on-boarding and deployment of Blackdot’s software ensuring they get maximum benefit. Prior to joining Blackdot, Mark spent ten years in government service managing investigations and operations across Europe, the Middle East and Asia.
Dr. Chris Stokoe
Head of Development
Chris leads our software development team and takes overall responsibility for the architectural direction of Videris. He has spent the last twenty years working in applied research and development spanning both the public and private sectors. Highlights include a PhD in Information Retrieval and Postdoctoral work at Cambridge as a Senior Research Associate in Text Mining.
Dr. David Walsh
Head of Test
David joined Blackdot Solutions in 2018 and heads the software testing team. David has worked in testing for the past nineteen years, following an eclectic academic career in Philosophy, Artificial Intelligence and Medical Imaging.
Charles Brown
Business Development Director
Charles has spent the past decade working in both operational and business development roles for a number of risk management and corporate investigations consultancies. He has managed complex investigative assignments for leading banks, law firms and major corporates and is well placed to understand the requirements of prospective clients drawn from these sectors.
Shaun O'Mahony
Founder and Non-Executive Director
Shaun founded Blackdot Solutions in Cambridge in 2011. Since then he has seen it take on investment and new directors, and grow to a team of 30 staff working in offices in Cambridge and London. Prior to founding Blackdot, Shaun worked as a Solutions Architect at Detica (now BAE Systems).
Alex Davies
Head of Customer Success
Alex joined Blackdot in 2013 and has played a key role in shaping Videris, as well as establishing Blackdot's support team. He has extensive experience using Videris to answer a wide range of investigative questions for an array of blue chip clients. He now leads our customer success function, using that experience to help our customers leverage Videris and apply it to their complex investigations.
Advisors
Sir Mark Rowley QPM
Board Advisor
Sir Mark Rowley was one of the most senior police figures in the UK with 31 years of service. He led UK Counter Terrorism Policing, 2014-2018. Previously, he held positions as Assistant Commissioner at the London Metropolitan Police and Chief Constable of Surrey Police. Sir Mark holds a mathematics degree from St Catharine's College, Cambridge.
