Contrivian has launched Horizon Plus, a field connectivity system for remote and mission-critical operations, expanding its Horizon portfolio for government, emergency services and enterprise users.

The system combines satellite links with multi-carrier 5G/LTE routing and SD-WAN to provide communications in areas with limited or no conventional infrastructure. It is designed for remote site operations, disaster response, military deployments and mobile healthcare settings.

The launch adds a new tier to a product line that already includes Horizon Go, a portable kit for solo responders and small teams, and Horizon, a ruggedised case for vehicle-mounted and fixed-site deployment. Horizon Plus sits above those products for multi-user field operations, while Horizon Pro remains aimed at more demanding deployments.

The wider Horizon line is intended to help field teams restore or establish communications quickly. Users can deploy the equipment within minutes for applications including remote video monitoring, real-time tracking and telemetry.

The San Francisco-based company provides connectivity services that combine fibre, broadband, LTE/5G and low Earth orbit satellite links. Its software products, Lighthouse and NorthStar, are used to monitor path conditions, select routes and provide central oversight across deployments.

Field use

Contrivian pointed to the Palisades fires in Los Angeles as an example of how the kits have been used in emergency conditions. The systems restored command-to-field communications, supported real-time weather and thermal imaging, and worked with existing handsets without requiring users to change devices, according to the company.

The example reflects a broader push by communications suppliers to provide more portable networks for agencies and operators working in austere environments. Emergency responders, healthcare providers and infrastructure operators increasingly rely on a mix of satellite and cellular services when terrestrial networks are unavailable or damaged.

Grant Kirkwood, Chief Executive Officer, Contrivian, described the launch as an important step in that strategy.

“The Contrivian Horizon Plus is a huge step for emergency services connectivity. Allowing critical teams from construction, remote operations, healthcare, law enforcement, military, and governments to connect to satellites for real-time tracking and telemetry, even in the most remote locations,” said Grant Kirkwood, Chief Executive Officer, Contrivian.

“The mix of hardware, software, and global connectivity creates a resilient ecosystem that ensures uninterrupted communication when it matters most, empowering responders to operate with greater precision, coordination and confidence in the field,” Kirkwood said.

Portfolio expansion

Horizon Go is available as either a hard case or backpack for walk-in deployment where vehicles cannot reach. The smaller system combines a Starlink Mini terminal with battery power intended to last through a full day of use.

For larger teams, Horizon uses the company’s NorthStar and Lighthouse software for round-the-clock monitoring in vehicle-mounted or fixed-site deployments. Horizon Plus extends that approach to broader field operations that require several users to share communications resources across a site or incident.

Tom Daly, Principal Technologist, Contrivian, said the company sees the systems as a way to reduce the technical burden on responders in the field.

“The Contrivian Horizon line gives responders the connectivity they’ve been needing. It’s ultra-portable, all-day battery powered and operational in minutes, built for solo responders, small teams and rapid recon in disaster scenarios,” said Tom Daly, Principal Technologist, Contrivian.

“Contrivian Lighthouse is intelligent edge software, a ‘network engineer in a box’ that thinks right on site, so first responders stay focused on their mission, not troubleshooting connectivity. With multiple paths active at once, Contrivian is delivering intelligence designed for optimized performance and fleet-wide visibility,” Daly said.

Broader market

The market for deployable communications systems has grown as public safety bodies, government agencies and companies seek more dependable links for crews operating beyond fixed network coverage. Low Earth orbit satellite services have widened the options for temporary and mobile connectivity, particularly when paired with terrestrial mobile networks and network management software.

Contrivian said its business centres on helping organisations maintain communications across remote sites and critical infrastructure. It serves sectors including public safety, healthcare, energy, financial services and government, where network outages can disrupt operations and decision-making in the field.

The Horizon expansion underlines the commercial focus on portable communications products that can scale from single-user kits to larger multi-team deployments without shifting to a separate operating model. In Contrivian’s line-up, that means a progression from carry-in systems for individual responders to larger cases intended for sustained field operations.

Horizon Plus is aimed at making that progression available to organisations that need communications across global remote environments without adding operational complexity or disruption.

Wotton Travel Ltd (WTL), based across the Oxfordshire border in Wotton-under-Edge, is celebrating its 40th anniversary tomorrow (Wednesday, July 1).

Founded in 1986 by Renishaw plc, the Gloucestershire business was originally established to manage the corporate travel needs of its parent company.

Since then, it has developed into a trusted, independent travel management company and retail travel agency,

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Wotton Travel Ltd (WTL) is celebrating 40 years in the Cotswolds. (Image: Wotton Travel Ltd)

WTL now serves a diverse portfolio of business and leisure clients while maintaining strong roots in the local community.

The company is fully bonded with both the Association of British Travel Agents (ABTA) and the International Air Transport Association (IATA).

It is also a member of the Advantage Travel Partnership and the Focus Travel Partnership, giving clients access to competitive global fares, accommodation and travel services through an extensive international network.

“Reaching this milestone is a fantastic achievement for WTL,” said Wendy Walker, Director of WTL.

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“We are incredibly proud of our heritage, our dedicated team, and the long-standing relationships we have built with our clients.

“From our beginnings within the Renishaw Group to where we are today, our focus has always been on delivering exceptional personal service and creating memorable travel experiences.”

With a team bringing together more than 300 years of combined travel industry experience, WTL is recognised for its depth of expertise and specialist destination knowledge.

The team includes in-house experts in cruises, North America, the Caribbean, Dubai, South Africa, Australia and many more destinations, enabling tailored itineraries across all seven continents.

Blue John has launched GREY, a people risk intelligence platform for small and medium-sized businesses and growth companies in regulated industries. The product is led by Founder and Chief Executive Officer Lorna Cobbett.

The launch comes as employers face closer scrutiny over conduct in financial services and broader questions about the reliability of conventional hiring methods in the age of AI-generated applications.

GREY is designed to sit alongside existing recruitment systems rather than replace them. The platform reviews public data, applies reputation analysis and uses neuroscience-based assessment methods to produce a human-reviewed report on a candidate before a hiring decision is made.

It identifies what Blue John describes as high-stakes reputational issues, hidden risks and untapped potential, then assesses workplace traits through a model it has branded Traitmarks. Reports are guided by Violet, which the company describes as GREY’s AI analyst.

Blue John is targeting employers in regulated sectors, where hiring decisions can carry compliance as well as operational risk. It argues that existing tools such as CVs and psychometric tests provide only a partial picture of a candidate, particularly when AI tools can help applicants produce highly polished applications.

Cobbett, a former Goldman Sachs banker who later became a reputation agency Chief Executive Officer, said the existing model for assessing candidates no longer reflects the realities facing employers.

“The talent system is broken and we’ve been assessing talent the same way for too long,” said Lorna Cobbett, Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Blue John.

“It’s time to look at who a person actually is, not what they claim to be,” Cobbett said.

Blue John said one in three hires is a wrong hire, with the average cost estimated at three times salary. It argues that the damage extends beyond direct financial loss to include disruption to culture, performance and corporate reputation.

Regulatory pressure

Part of Blue John’s pitch rests on changing regulation. The company pointed to the Financial Conduct Authority’s Non-Financial Misconduct Rules, which it said will extend to around 37,000 non-bank firms, and to the Employment Rights Act 2025, which it said changes the significance of the probation period in employment decisions.

Against that backdrop, Cobbett said employers are facing a convergence of pressures in recruitment and workforce management.

“GREY gives organisations the insight to see the person – not the AI-perfect CV – before they become a costly wrong hire,” Cobbett said.

“We’re here to protect your talent system, not replace it,” she added.

Blue John said the platform can also be used beyond recruitment, including for onboarding, talent management and leadership development. It described this broader use as a way for organisations to build a growing base of internal intelligence over time.

The business was founded by a team with experience in reputation management, due diligence and Open Banking. Cobbett said that background shaped a model that looks outward at a person’s public reputation and behaviour rather than relying solely on self-description in interviews or tests.

Funding plans

Blue John said it has backing from strategic angel investors in financial services, professional services and serial entrepreneurs. It is preparing a seed fundraising round targeting £3 million.

The company also outlined a broader ambition to create what it calls “Open Reputation”, a framework intended to make talent-related reputation data more visible and usable in hiring and workforce decisions.

Cobbett linked that idea to earlier changes in financial data sharing.

“We are at a defining moment for talent. AI has made the CV so perfect it has become unreliable and no-one trusts it. Alongside this trust collapse, the Employment Rights Act 2025 is about to turn the traditional six-month probation period into a legal milestone. And the FCA’s Non-Financial Misconduct Rules extend to 37,000 non-bank firms from September this year, making every talent decision in financial services a risk and compliance event,” Cobbett said.

“These are three forces converging at once and the trust infrastructure organisations need to respond simply does not exist yet. No one has been looking outward at the person – at who they actually are, how they behave and how they will show up in the workplace. This is what GREY changes and is the foundation of a new category: people risk intelligence. Organisations need to start thinking about how they will mitigate people risk now,” she said.

She said the longer-term goal extends beyond a single hiring tool.

“My vision has always been to create Open Reputation, doing for talent data what Open Banking did for financial data,” Cobbett said.

“This is about building trust infrastructure and establishing a level playing field for talent. Personal reputation is no longer just a risk to be managed, it’s an asset to be understood,” she added.