NEWS IN BRIEF
Daily Digest 25 November
25-11-2008
by Deirdre McArdle
IBM creates jobs in research 'collaboratory' | Firms retraining staff during downturn
IBM has announced it is to establish a research 'collaboratory' in Dublin with the creation of 40 jobs. A collaboratory is a laboratory where IBM researchers work with a university, government, or commercial partner to share skills and resources. This particular collaboratory will see IBM supercomputing and multidisciplinary experts work with researchers from Trinity College Dublin (TCD), Tyndall National Institute in Cork, National University of Ireland Galway (NUIG), University College Cork (UCC) and IRCSET (the Irish Research Council for Science, Engineering and Technology). They aim to develop computing architectures and technologies that are able to overcome current limitations of dealing with the massive volumes of real-time data and analysis. The new jobs will be spread between IBM and the participating universities.
A large proportion of Irish firms are using the current downturn as an opportunity to retrain staff in other areas in preparation for a turnaround. That's according to a survey conducted by SHL Ireland, which revealed that 59 percent of firms said redefining how their employees operate is of 'critical importance' as they prepare for the year ahead. In addition, 47.6 percent said the redeployment of existing staff between other offices, divisions or roles was an important strategy in the current climate. When asked about the extent to which the economic downturn had affected budgets for recruitment, staff training and development, all firms reported a degree of belt tightening, with 57.9 percent reporting cutbacks of 25 percent or less. Worryingly, 16.2 percent reported an immediate need for voluntary or forced redundancy. The survey included companies from the technology, financial services, FMCG (fast moving consumer goods), pharmaceutical, retail and public sectors. SHL develops employee assessment products.
Mobile spam is on the increase in Europe, according to a survey conducted by comScore M:Metrics on behalf of Airwide Solutions, which revealed that the number of European mobile users receiving unsolicited text messages grew by 21.3 percent over the past year. The report also found that a significant number of consumers are now using their mobile phones to carry out financial transactions. According to the study, 5.6 million people in the EU access financial information from their mobile phones, up 23.6 percent on last year's figure. Airwide Solutions provides mobile security solutions to operators. The study surveyed mobile users in five European countries: France, Germany, the UK, Spain and Italy.
Mobile operator O2 Ireland has linked up with HEAnet, Ireland's national education and research network, to release a student rate for mobile broadband services. Students availing of the deal need to sign up for 12 months and will pay EUR13 per month for up to 10GB data allowance. The offer is being rolled out to all participating HEAnet institutions.
Irish IT outsourcing and managed services provider Data Electronics has signed a partnership deal with Irish business software solutions and services company ProStrategy, valued at EUR3 million. The agreement will see the pair roll out a suite of co-location and managed service solutions to Irish and international customers. "This partnership reflects the growing demand for outsourcing and managed services that enable companies to reduce operating costs and provide a secure environment for their IT systems," said Maurice Mortell, CEO, Data Electronics, in a statement.
Over half of US internet users use social networking sites such as Facebook and MySpace, according to a survey from IDC. Over 75 percent of social networking users log on to these sites at least once a week, while 57 percent log on every day. During each session, 61 percent said they spend at least 30 minutes on the respective site, and 38 percent spend at least one full hour per session. The IDC study also revealed that social networkers don't pay too much heed to advertising on social networking sites; just over half (57 percent) clicked on at least one ad in the past year, compared to 79 percent of internet users in general. "The thinking has been that the popularity of SNS [social networking services] will attract a big audience and generate a lot of traffic, which in turn will produce enormous amounts of user-generated content (UGC) and therefore advertising inventory..." said Karsten Weide, program director, Digital Marketplace: Media and Advertising."All of the above has proven true -- except that almost invariably, SNS have had a hard time selling this inventory."
Caped Koala Studios has built a virtual world for kids, combining education and social networking 