NEWS IN BRIEF
Daily Digest 6 May
06-05-2009
by Emmet Cole
Broadband subscribers jump at UPC | Saber shows appetite for 'Destruction'
The Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland (RCSI) has signed a major scientific agreement with Cleveland Clinic, Ohio -- one of the US' largest medical centres. The agreement will see the two institutions collaborate on educational, research and innovation activities in the medical device sector. The agreement will enable the Royal College of Surgeons and Cleveland Clinic to identify gaps in the medical device market, encourage the development of medical device solutions, as well as partnering on clinical trials for CE and FDA approval.
Liberty Global, the parent company of television, broadband, and telephone services provider UPC Ireland (Chorus and NTL), has posted its results for the first quarter of 2009. Revenue in Ireland reached USD79.8 million, down from USD88.4 million in the same period last year. However, when taking the euro-dollar exchange rate into consideration, the company saw a rise in first quarter revenues of 3.7 percent to EUR61.1 million. Broadband subscribers increased to 111,400, while phone subscribers jumped over 25 percent to 34,800. Meanwhile, digital TV subscribers reached a total of 319,900 up around 1 percent from the year-ago quarter. UPC is set to invest more than EUR90 million in its Irish network this year, according to the company.
Companies in Dublin's Digital Hub expect up to 25 percent growth in employment this year, according to the second annual Enterprise Survey of Digital Hub firms. That figure represents a potential 250 new jobs in the digital media sector. The survey also found that companies based in the Digital Hub are expected to grow strongly during 2009, with 54 percent of firms predicting growth during the year. The survey was carried out by the Digital Hub Development Agency (DHDA) and was conducted in March 2009.
IT consultants Kainos have announced a project at Dublin City Council (DCC) that's predicted to save the council EUR15,000-EUR20,000 a month by eliminating paper from committee meetings. Based on a Microsoft SharePoint-based collaboration solution developed by Kainos for the City Council, the system is expected to start operating in June. The solution enables agendas and other documentation to be circulated electronically over a secure intranet before and during meetings.
Irish games and movies IT company, Havok, has signed a licensing agreement with New Jersey-based game development studio Saber Interactive. The agreement will see Saber Interactive use Havok's 'Destruction' product in several video games. Destruction brings greater realism to video games from improved structural mechanics and graphical effects to enhanced design capabilities. Saber Interactive is best known for its action games Will Rock and TimeShift.
Meanwhile, McGovern PR has acquired digital marketing and travel consultancy Create Affinity. McGovern PR said it is now poised to create Ireland's first online marketing service specifically geared for the travel and tourism industry. Financial details were not disclosed. The new company will offer custom marketing and technology solutions for tour operators, travel brokers, hotels, tourism boards, airlines and inbound tourism initiatives.
Irish web consulting, research and design company, Strata3, has announced contracts to the value of more than EUR250,000. The latest announcement includes contracts awarded to Strata3 for the provision of website development and web hosting services to Expedia, the RDS, ECDL, Beaumont Hospital, Royal College of Surgeons, Affordable Home Partnership, IDA Ireland, Arup Consulting Engineers and a new financial comparison website. The IDA Ireland project involves a cross-border initiative between IDA Ireland and Invest Northern Ireland to promote the North West region.
Finally, Citrix Systems has announced the availability of the Citrix Receiver application on Apple's App Store at its annual Synergy conference. The software claims to provide iPhone and iPod Touch users with access to Windows applications and documents from virtually anywhere, whilst enabling virtual desktops and applications on demand to any device in any location. Citrix Receiver is a software client that resides on user devices, like PCs, Macs and smartphones.
Caped Koala Studios has built a virtual world for kids, combining education and social networking 