NEWS IN BRIEF
Daily Digest 9 December
09-12-2009
by Sylvia Leatham
Half of firms have cut ICT spend: ComReg | Lero research centre is 13th best in world
More than half of Irish businesses reduced their communications spend in 2009, according to the latest ComReg ICT survey. In a study of 485 SMEs and 66 corporate firms, 56 percent said they had reduced spending on communications services in the past 12 months. Corporates (more than 100 staff) and businesses employing between 10 and 49 people were most likely to have reduced spending. Some 42 percent said "getting the best value for money" was the chief reason they chose their main fixed-line telecoms supplier, while 14 percent have considered dispensing with their fixed-line service altogether. While 94 percent of businesses have internet access, just over 10 percent are using mobile broadband as their main means of access. This figure is down from 23 percent in 2008. Eircom continues to be the main internet service provider (ISP) in the market, but 40 percent of businesses are now using an alternative provider. Seven percent of companies are using only a narrowband internet connection. The full report is available to download from ComReg.ie.
Lero, the Irish Software Engineering Research Centre, has been ranked the 13th best Information Systems research centre in the world, according to a study by the Association for Information Systems (AIS). Based on publications in 'MIS Quarterly' and 'Information Systems Research', two international journals in the field of Information Systems, AIS also ranked Lero professor Brian Fitzgerald as the world's number two IS researcher. "Traditionally the IS field has been dominated by North American academics so it is particularly encouraging for Lero to be ranked so highly on the international stage," said Professor Kevin Ryan, centre director of Lero. Lero, set up in 2005 with support from Science Foundation Ireland, is a collaborative organisation that includes software engineering research activities at the University of Limerick, Dublin City University, Trinity College Dublin and University College Dublin.
In other news from the world of research, Ireland has been ranked 8th out of 20 countries in terms of the impact of its research publications. The study was conducted on behalf of Forfas and the Higher Education Authority (HEA) by Evidence Ltd, part of the Thomson Reuters Group. Forfas says the study shows that Ireland is punching above its weight in terms of the impact of its research. "The findings show that Ireland has pockets of competitive research within many fields of science," said Martin Shanahan, manager, Science Technology and Human Capital Policy Division, Forfas. "It is clear that we need to prioritise and focus on niche areas related to key technologies of economic importance and become leaders in these areas." The full report is available at Forfas.ie.
Irish tech firm IC Mask Design, a provider of services to electronic chip design companies, is to invest nearly half a million euro in research and development, with support from Enterprise Ireland, over the next three years. The investment will enable IC Mask Design to develop a software-based electronics design tool to accelerate and semi-automate the custom integrated circuit (IC) layout process. The company expects to launch its new product in the first quarter of 2010.
The Irish Times has launched a tech start-up tracker list, in conjunction with Silicon Valley-based tracking firm YouNoodle. The Irish Times Tech 50 tracker ranks the top 50 technology start-ups in Ireland every week, giving them a score between 1 and 100, with the calculations based on performance, press coverage and other factors. A score above 90 indicates the company is likely to be acquired or make a public offering, while brand-new firms are placed in the 1-15 range. The rankings will be recalculated every week based on publicly available information.
Social networking giant Facebook has reminded users that its new privacy settings are about to come into effect. The new features are designed to simplify privacy settings and will enable users to limit messages to a certain subset of friends. Regional networks, such as 'Ireland', will be deleted in favour of four basic control settings: friends, friends of friends, everyone, and customised. Site users will be required to review and update their settings from Wednesday, following a Facebook blog posting last week announcing the changes.
Look out for coverage of the Budget's implications for the IT industry in our Weekly Digest on Thursday.
Caped Koala Studios has built a virtual world for kids, combining education and social networking 