IN THE PAPERS
In The Papers 3 December
03-12-2010
by Sylvia Leatham
73pc of Irish firms plan Windows 7 migration | Digicel plans to raise USD300m
The Irish Times reports that a EUR3.7 million EU-wide project aimed at improving data protection is to be led by researchers from Waterford Institute of Technology (WIT). The Endorse project involves industry experts from the Netherlands, Italy, the UK, Spain, Austria and Ireland. Over the next year those involved hope to develop software that will allow companies to check compliance with their own country's data protection legislation. It is hoped the software will be made public by September 2012.
The paper also notes that Vendorshop, a Dublin-based firm with a Facebook plug-in that allows users to set up a shop on the social networking site, has 10,000 businesses worldwide using its software.
The paper also says that small and medium-size manufacturing firms will unfairly bear the brunt of the Government's decision to scrap the tax exemption on patent royalties, a leading IP lawyer has said. Richard O'Connor, general manager of Cruickshank, which specialises in intellectual property law, says the exemption is widely availed of by firms engaged in "everyday R&D", rather than the capital-intensive research undertaken by bigger firms. "This [exemption] was the last remaining incentive to manufacture in Ireland," said O'Connor. "I have a lot of clients who will consider moving new production lines overseas now."
The paper also says that two Irish doctors have developed a web-based directory to help their peers easily find the best qualified specialists to refer patients to. GPBuddy.ie will be free for GPs to use and allows them to search for an expert by different criteria including location, name and speciality. According to one of its creators, the site will make it easier for doctors to refer patients to the right person and will give patients a choice of to whom they are referred.
The same paper notes that recruitment software firm Candidate Manager has signed a EUR236,000 deal with Tesco to update its online hiring practices and roll out recruitment software to over 2,500 Tesco stores and call centres in the UK and Ireland.
The paper also says that European data centre operator Interxion has announced plans to expand its recently opened Dublin 2 data centre. The company said the expansion was in response to demand from customers, primarily in the digital media, carrier and cloud service sectors. Including the investment made to build and equip the new data centre, the expansion brings Interxion's total investment in the new facility to EUR13 million in the last 18 months.
The same paper says that 73 percent of Irish firms plan to deploy Windows 7 as soon as possible, with 42 percent planning to upgrade within a year, according to a new survey from Citrix Systems Ireland. Some 43 percent of businesses said the main reason for migrating to Windows 7 was increased speed and productivity. This was followed by improved security and networking (30 percent).
The paper also says that Caribbean mobile operator Digicel is planning to raise USD300 million through a private placement of loan notes. The Denis O'Brien-owned firm said it intends to raise the money through the issue of 8.25 percent senior notes due in 2017. "The use of proceeds of this offering will be for general corporate purposes, including debt service and capital expenditure," the company said.
In more news of Digicel, the Irish Independent says that chairman and founder Denis O'Brien has been named winner of the 'Jamaica Observer' Business Leader Foreign Investor Award at a ceremony in Kingston, Jamaica. The award is aimed at individuals, groups or companies that have made "significant contributions to the economic, social growth and development of Jamaica".
The Wall Street Journal reports that the European Commission wants 4G wireless broadband spectrum to be made available by 2013. "The commission is convinced that its proposal to fix 2013 as the target date is necessary and realistic," said Neelie Kroes, EU Commissioner for the digital agenda. "[We] will encourage those member states that have had difficulties in making progress so far and are working hard to overcome those difficulties to meet this deadline." Kroes said individual extensions until 2015 could be made possible if absolutely necessary.
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