NEWS IN BRIEF
Daily Digest 13 April
13-04-2010
by Deirdre McArdle
Havok's O'Meara to step down | Green IT cluster to work with IBM
David O'Meara, Managing Director of Irish software firm Havok, is to step down in June, after seven years in the job. O'Meara is leaving Havok to pursue other business interests. In 2007 Havok was bought by Intel. It has offices in Dublin, San Francisco, San Antonio, Calcutta, Munich and Tokyo.
The Irish Software Innovation Network has launched a 'green IT cluster' of academics, indigenous software companies and multinational companies. The cluster's remit is to support the work of IBM's Smarter Cities Technology Centre, which was opened in Dublin last month. Companies with an interest in the cluster can find out more here.
Irish owned DNM Technology has partnered with the Irish League of Credit Unions to roll out business intelligence software to credit unions around the country. The software will be delivered via ILCUnet, the credit unions' private comms network. Financial details of the deal were not disclosed.
Datacentre services provider Interxion has posted revenue of EUR171.7 million for 2009, up 24 on 2008 figures. EBITDA increased by 30 percent year-on-year to EUR62.7 million, while net profit dropped to EUR26.5 million in 2009 from EUR37.4 million in 2008.
Irish firms in a number of sectors including construction, software and electronics have scooped EUR200 million worth of contracts for the London 2012 Olympics. Dundalk-based Anord Control Systems was awarded a contract worth over STG1 million to supply switchgear as part of infrastructural cabling works, while Kerry-based Donseed's web-based workplace management solutions are being deployed on the Stratford site. Read more details here.
Dublin-based telecoms equipment supplier Intune Networks has opened an office in Boston, as it launches its expansion into the US market. The Boston office is the firm's first outside of Ireland, and comes as it builds up to the rollout of its commercial product later this year.
Virgin, Starbucks and Best Buy are among the first companies to sign on to Twitter's newly-launched ad programme, called Promoted Tweets. Ads, or 'promoted tweets' will appear in results when a user searches for keywords that advertisers have bought to link to their ads.
Apple has given the green light to the Opera Mini browser for the iPhone and the iPod Touch. The browser will be available as a free download on the App Store. Read more details here.
Caped Koala Studios has built a virtual world for kids, combining education and social networking 