In the papers 22 May

22-05-2008

by Sylvia Leatham

Ireland among top locations for outsourcing | Cable & Wireless considers de-merger options

The Irish Times reports that Chinese firm SATIR is to establish its European headquarters in Dundalk, with the creation of 40 jobs. Read the full story on ENN.

The Irish Examiner says that Ireland is one of the top 30 locations in the world for the outsourcing of IT or business process services, according to research conducted by US firm Gartner. Ireland and Northern Ireland were placed among countries such as India and Singapore as the most suitable locations for offshore activities. The analysis showed that India remains the leader in offshore services, but countries such as Ireland, China, Russia and Brazil are providing credible alternatives. Ireland fared well for language skills and the quality and quantity of English-language speakers.

The paper also says that the Data Protection Commissioner is investigating the widespread use of a four-digit code that allows access to mobile phone voice messages. Many of the owners of the country's 5 million mobile phones do not change the default four-digit password on their voicemail. Deputy Data Protection Commissioner Gary Davis has contacted the four main mobile operators to ask them what their customer policy is in relation to voicemail security.

According to the Financial Times, Microsoft is attempting to appease critics who claim the company is abusing its dominant market position by detailing plans to improve the way its flagship Office product works with non-Microsoft applications. The software group has announced that a second update of its Office 2007 software, due to be released in the first half of 2009, will support rival open standards, including ODF, which was developed by Sun Microsystems. In addition, Microsoft plans to join the technical standards committee working on the next version of ODF, and to participate in the international standards working group which is being formed to work on ODF maintenance.

The paper also says that Cable & Wireless is considering plans for a possible de-merger, as it reported a 7 percent rise in full year pre-tax profits. "We have kicked off the process and are at the data collection stage and will move into the evaluation and decision stage later this [fiscal] year," said John Pluthero, executive chairman of the company's two main divisions. Pre-tax profits were up 7 percent to STG267 million. Stripping out exceptionals, pre-tax profits rose by 57 percent to STG308 million for the year ended 31 March. Revenues decreased by 9 percent to STG3.2 billion for the year.

The Wall Street Journal reports a surprise move by South Korean firms Samsung Electronics and LG Electronics to work together. The rival companies said they would cooperate on a technology for transmitting and receiving digital TV to mobile devices in the US and other countries that are using the same digital-TV standard. A top executive from Samsung's TV division also said it may buy components from LG Display, a company in which LG Electronics is the biggest shareholder.