NEWS IN BRIEF
For the record 20 June
20-06-2007
by Ciara O'Brien
Ryanair to hold online auction for ad space | Cable & Wireless links up with Jinny Software
Budget airline Ryanair is holding an online auction to win advertising space on its 2007/2008 Ski Site. This is the first time that the company has held such an auction, which is due to take place on 19 July. Ryanair described it as a great opportunity for ski and snowboard service partners. Participation in the auction is free -- interested partners should e-mail ski-ryanair@tradingpartners.com.
MBA students from the UCD Michael Smurfit Graduate Business School team have taken the MBA Strategy Forum Trophy, after successfully presenting a strategy for Apple Computers. The five teams attending the MBA Association of Ireland's Strategy Forum, from Dublin City University, Trinity College Dublin, UCD Michael Smurfit Graduate Business School, University of Ulster and Waterford Institute of Technology were asked "Where next for Apple Computers, creators of the iconic iMac and iPod?" The presentations were made to a panel of business academics and Laurence Lord, Corporate Services Director with InterTradeIreland, who sponsored the event.
Cable & Wireless has teamed up with Jinny Software, a leading supplier of personalised messaging and media processing platforms to mobile network operators, to provide its messaging platforms to C&W's 14 businesses in the Americas and Caribbean. Jinny Software won two deals, one in the Caribbean and the other in Panama, and collaborated closely with telecoms supplier Ericsson. In Panama, Jinny has agreed to provide an SMSC, a Real-Time Charging Gateway with Diameter prepaid interface and a Message Router, while in the Caribbean the deal includes a fully redundant SMSC platform.
Middle East-based Orient Planet PR and Marketing Communications has been made a member of global tech PR network Eurocom Worldwide. The appointment means that Dublin-based PR firm Simpson Financial & Technology PR can extend its reach for Irish clients to the Middle East -- Simpson FT PR was a founding member of Eurocom Worldwide, which was established in 2002. The network was rated by PR industry survey as Europe's fastest growing association of independent PR and communications agencies.
Entertainment is taking over from shopping as the activity of choice online for UK users. According to data from intelligence service Hitwise, the entertainment category overtook the retail category in share of UK visits for the first time in May. The category is also among the fastest growing online -- visits increased 12 percent year on year in May. YouTube is responsible for a large proportion of category visits, accounting for 47 percent of visits last week. Shopping and classifieds websites fell 5 percent year on year in May.
Commercial opportunities from research are on the rise, according to the annual report from NovaUCD, the Innovation and Technology Transfer Centre at University College Dublin. According to the document, UCD researchers submitted 37 invention disclosures, representing growth of more than 50 percent when compared to 2005 figures. Dr Pat Frain, director of NovaUCD said this increase was a sign of growing awareness among UCD researchers of the need to protect and commercialise research-generated intellectual property.
Caped Koala Studios has built a virtual world for kids, combining education and social networking 