NEWS IN BRIEF
Daily Digest 10 March
10-03-2009
by Bryan Collins
HP to create 500 Irish jobs | IT execs pessimistic about revenues
Computer giant Hewlett Packard is to create 500 Irish jobs over the next 12 months with a EUR18 million expansion. The global multinational, which already employs 4,000 people at its Irish base in Leixlip, is expanding its global service desk and is to recruit 300 new staff immediately. The multi-lingual technical support centre will employ a range of people, including high-end graduates. HP's expansion, which is supported by IDA Ireland, also includes the creation of a research and development capability. "Ireland will continue to invest heavily in education to ensure a supply of skilled, multilingual graduates in order to assist companies, such as HP, to win an increasing level of complex outsourcing contracts which will drive the future success of the service industry," said Taoiseach Brian Cowen. ICT Ireland, the IBEC group that represents the high-tech sector has welcomed the news. “This announcement gives a clear signal that Ireland continues to have the skills and talent required to support global technology businesses. We must ensure that there continues to be a supply of students with transferable skills in computers, engineering and multilingual skills if we are to benefit from these developments in the future," said ICT Ireland Director Kathryn D'Arcy, in a statement.
Less than half (46 percent) of senior executives in technology companies expect to increase revenues in 2009. That's according to a survey of 335 global technology senior executives conducted by PR network Eurocom Worldwide and Simpson FT PR, which revealed that the number of people predicting increased revenues fell by 88 percent compared to 2008. Of those surveyed 31 percent expect revenues to remain the same and 22 percent predict a decline in sales in 2009. The study was carried out in January and February of this year and 12 percent of respondents were from Ireland. "Despite a sharp drop in confidence overall there are some mixed signals coming from this year's survey. While a quarter expect to reduce jobs, slightly more than that are looking to increase employment," said Ronnie Simpson of Simpson FT PR.
Business intelligence software could be the key to surviving the recession according to Pegasus Software. The IT company believes business intelligence software is important thanks to growing regulatory requirements and the combination of traditional forms of financial data with text, images, voice and video. Pegasus also highlighted browser-based dashboards as particularly useful. "Spending hours sifting through paperwork to source the relevant information is simply unfeasible for today's SMEs, particularly when there are tools available which can source the relevant piece of information, in the appropriate format, at the click of a mouse," said Charles Alken of Pegasus Software.
Free music video site Muzu.tv has criticised YouTube's decision to block UK users from accessing premium music videos, saying its business model "doesn’t stack up". YouTube started restricting the access of UK-based users after it failed to reach agreement with the Performing Right Society (PRS) about how musicians should be paid. "It's not the music industry's fault that YouTube's business model doesn't stack up. The model doesn't support paying the current PRS rates let alone the payment to artists, because they cannot command high enough advertising rates. While the industry needs to look at the minimum stream rates to make new business models viable and sustainable it should not let YouTube hold it to ransom," said Mark French, managing director of Muzu.tv.
Irish content management company Terminal Four is to power the University of Virginia's (UVa) School of Nursing website with its enterprise web content management solution. Terminal Four was chosen over a number of domestic and international enterprise and open-source vendors and the contract marks the company's first such deal with a US university. Terminal Four has provided content management software to Irish and UK universities since 2002 and says its portfolio of clients contributed to the contract win. "The [UVa] web project was a massive undertaking which was driven by increases in the demand for online information resources by current and prospective students, alumni, faculty, and the research community," said Piero Tintori, CEO of Terminal Four. Financial details of the agreement were not disclosed.
Business communications provider Damovo has implemented Microsoft Office Communication Server (OCS) across its Irish and global operations. The company believes this will deliver significant costs savings within eight months. Damovo's 1,100 plus staff in Ireland and abroad can use OCS to access unified communications applications like instant messaging audio and video conferencing, and real-time document sharing. Damovo decided to implement the solution after commissioning a survey which revealed EUR693 million is being lost to the Irish economy per annum as a result of time wasted by office workers trying and failing to contact customers and colleagues. "We are…saving valuable time, money and CO2 emissions as we now hold most of our meetings using online video conferencing," said Mike Parton, chairman and CEO of Damovo.
UPC Ireland has appointed Bruce Bullock as its head of sales. Bullock will be responsible for consumer TV, broadband and phone sales for UPC through channels like the web, telesales, direct sales and third party partnerships. Bullock previously worked for GE Money for 13 years in a variety of sales and operations roles. He holds a BA in history and politics from the University of Central Lancashire and is a qualified financial advisor.
Irish employees are wasting over two hours a day online according to a new survey by law consultancy firm Peninsula Ireland. The survey found that employees spend an average of 2 hours 20 minutes of the working day using the internet for personal reasons, with 92 percent admitting to sending personal e-mails during work. Peninsula Ireland also revealed that 69 percent of Irish employers have disciplined staff over how they use the internet. "Implementing clear usage policies are a fundamental part of modern business and clear guidelines ensure that your employees know what is expected and also lets them know what action will be taken should they ignore the policy," said Alan Price, managing director of Peninsula Ireland.
Caped Koala Studios has built a virtual world for kids, combining education and social networking 