NEWS IN BRIEF
Daily Digest 3 December
03-12-2009
by Deirdre McArdle
NI to roll out fibre-to-cabinet tech | MySpace Music launches UK site
Technology firms in Ireland raised EUR109 million in funding during the third quarter, an increase of 55 percent from the same period last year. According to a VenturePulse survey issued by the Irish Venture Capital Association (IVCA), the amount raised by tech firms to September this year is EUR220 million. The number of companies that raised funds during the third quarter was 86, compared to 64 in the same period in 2008 and to 73 in 2007. Amounts raised ranged from EUR50,000 to EUR47 million. The figures were welcomed by Conor Lenihan, Minister for Science, Technology & Innovation. "It is particularly significant that over 20 percent or EUR48.3 million of funds raised this year were in the area of early stage or seed capital."
Speaking at the Irish Future Internet Forum in the Digital Hub on Thursday Minister Lenihan said: "It is crucial for Ireland’s economic recovery and future success that Irish companies and our academics play a leadership role in the development of the future internet by identifying strategic priorities in research and innovation in this area." He suggested that the "future internet" is an integral part of the 'smart economy' and that Ireland needs to build on the momentum of existing research in this area.
eBay.ie is predicting that 7 December will be 'Manic Monday' as Irish consumers flock online to do some Christmas shopping. The online marketplace estimates that 112,000 online shoppers will visit eBay.ie on 7 December with a Christmas gift being bought every 30 seconds. According to its research eBay says that 69 percent of Irish consumers will shop online this year, with the average amount people spending on Christmas presents coming in at EUR206, compared to EUR234 last year.
Irish content management software firm pTools has, in partnership with Riverdocs, developed an automated document migration and transformation solution that is aimed at government agencies and financial services firms. Using the solution, organisations will be able to transform PDF, Microsoft Word, and all Microsoft Office documents into compliant html web pages, without the need for manual migration. This will cut down on time and costs, according to pTools.
Northern Ireland is to invest STG48 million in its telecoms infrastructure as it introduces 'fibre to the cabinet' technology to businesses throughout the region. BT secured the contract to deliver the fibre technology and the project will be completed within the next 18 months. The tender specified that businesses in urban areas should receive a minimum downstream speed of 10Mbps and ones in rural areas 2Mbps. "This project is designed to deliver on the key Programme for Government objective to ensure 85 percent of businesses in Northern Ireland will have access to next generation broadband speeds by 2011," said Minister for Enterprise Arlene Foster. BT is investing close to STG30 million in the project, with a further STG18 million coming from the Department of Enterprise Trade and Investment (DETI).
Three-quarters of business and IT professionals believe IT has grown in importance since the recession, and most say that IT spending is set to increase, reports V3.co.uk. That's according to a global survey by Accenture, in association with the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU), which found that 61 percent of non-IT executives predict a rise in tech spending in 2010. The report also says that IT needs to present a solid case if future investment is to be secured. Some 80 percent of executives said they are under increased pressure to deliver more flexible projects than before. In order to reduce the cost of implementing IT projects, the report recommends that firms ensure the "stability and business relevance" of project requirements, replace or rationalise existing systems, and move to open platforms.
Social networking site MySpace has launched a music site, MySpace Music, in the UK. The site will offer free streaming access to entire back catalogues of artists on both major and independent labels. Users will also be able to watch videos, buy DRM-free tracks directly from iTunes and listen to play-lists created by artists. MySpace hopes the launch will help it to compete directly with popular music streaming sites in the UK such as Spotify. MySpace, like Spotify, will feature ads appearing on-screen every now and then, but apparently they will not interrupt the music being played. MySpace Music is already up and running in the US. The website is a joint venture between MySpace and the four major record companies -- Universal Music Group, Sony Music, Warner Music Group and EMI Music.
Caped Koala Studios has built a virtual world for kids, combining education and social networking 