NEWS IN BRIEF
Daily Digest 26 February
26-02-2009
by Bryan Collins
O2's customers up, ARPU down | Construction industry turns to technology
Telefonica O2 Ireland's latest key performance indicators reveal the operator has 1.728 million customers, its highest ever level. The fourth quarter figures showed O2 added 14,589 new customers in the quarter, up 5 percent compared to the same period last year. However, O2's ARPU continues to decline; its monthly average blended ARPU for the quarter was EUR42.60, down from EUR43.70 in the previous quarter and down from EUR45.70 for the same period last year. "On the back of a slowing economy, trading conditions in the last quarter of 2008 were very difficult for all businesses, and the telecoms sector was no different," said Paul Whelan, chief financial officer with Telefonica O2 Ireland.
Microsoft has reached an agreement with Vodafone whereby the operator will offer businesses a mobile, voice and data communications solution alongside Microsoft Online Services. The offering, hosted by Microsoft and made available through Vodafone, will include some of the Redmond giant's key business products such as Exchange Online, SharePoint Online, Office Communications and Live Meeting. Microsoft Online Services is available in the US from Thursday and will be made available in Germany, Spain and several other markets during the first half of 2009.
French customer service company Teleperformance is to create 600 jobs in Co. Down. The company, which provides services to firms in a number of sectors including mobile and telecoms, operates centres in Newry and Bangor. Following this expansion Teleperformance's Irish headcount will reach 2,000. The firm's announcement follows on GEM's commitment, on Wednesday, to create 900 new jobs in the North with the support of a STG5.5 million grant from Invest Northern Ireland.
The Construction IT Alliance (CITA) and Enterprise Ireland have launched a research and design initiative aimed at creating new jobs in the construction industry. Over 300 firms have already pledged to the Construction Enterprise Innovation Network that they will work with academics and Irish SMEs in the construction sector to develop e-business approaches for winning sales. The network itself has 127 members including IT vendors, engineers, and architects. "The Construction Enterprise Innovation Network will make existing research and innovation supports, such as Enterprise Ireland's R&D fund, more accessible to small construction companies," said Feargal O Morain, executive director of Enterprise Ireland.
Speculation about Yahoo and Microsoft is rife again after the web company said it was not against Microsoft taking over all or part of its assets. Yahoo's chief financial officer and executive vice-president, Blake Jorgensen, said at the Goldman Sachs Technology and Internet Conference, in San Francisco, that Yahoo is willing to listen to any proposals that "would maximise the value of the business, be it a partnership or sale in the long term". His comments follow on from Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer's revelation that he is trying to find a way of working with Yahoo.
Enterprise software-as-a-service (SaaS) vendor Salesforce.com's latest yearly earnings reached USD1.33 billion. This is the first time Salesforce.com has earned over USD1 billion and contrasts with the less-than-stellar financial reports of many other tech companies. The firm reported fourth quarter revenues of USD289 million, up 34 percent over the same time last year. The firm also revealed its service processed around 12 billion transactions during the quarter.
Microsoft has reached an agreement with NBC Universal International Television Distribution to provide its films on Xbox Live. NBC Universal will join Warner Bros and Paramount on Xbox Live and the deal will see Xbox Live offer around 30 new movie titles including "Hellboy II: The Golden Army", "Weird Science" and "The Chronicles of Riddick".
Caped Koala Studios has built a virtual world for kids, combining education and social networking 