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Internet Growth Acceleration Programme (iGAP) to help Internet Related Companies Win New Business Opportunities
Ireland’s growing number of internet related companies are set to receive a major boost to their growth development prospects with the launch today (Tuesday 29 September 2009) of the Internet Growth Acceleration Programme (iGAP). Developed by Enterprise Ireland in association with the Internet Growth Alliance (a business led initiative supporting the international growth of Irish e-businesses) this new Programme for high potential Internet companies will provide them with the tools and skills to develop and execute aggressive international growth plans and scale their business. Recruitment for the Programme, which starts in November, is now underway.
The focus of the Internet Growth Acceleration Programme is on Internet related companies with global growth potential and the ability to meet critical growth milestones. The Programme design is specifically geared to add significant strategic and business value to companies in both B2B and B2C markets with practical learning modules, support from implementation coaches, access to business advisors and industry networking. Industry experts and experienced Internet entrepreneurs will cover topics including monetizing the business, revenue models, marketing, customer acquisition and retention and preparation for funding – all key elements of a business strategy for growing Internet companies.
Speaking at the launch, Jennifer Condon, Manager of Enterprise Ireland’s Software Division, said:
“Enterprise Ireland’s new Software Strategy, as part of the Government’s Smart Economy blueprint, sets out to develop and grow a thriving set of high-value, innovative, research-intensive Irish Software companies. The aim of the software strategy is to position Ireland’s software industry to maximise its opportunities in the “New Software Economy”. This New Software Economy is driven by the growth of the Internet and changes in the software value chain. It is characterised by user demand for greater flexibility, global delivery and cost effective solutions.
“The Internet is providing opportunities for new business models as seen in Internet based start-ups and new delivery channels such as Software as a Service. These new business models favour flexible, innovative SMEs by giving them access to international markets via the Internet. The Internet Growth Acceleration Programme aims to position Irish Internet related companies to maximise their potential in this new market environment and is specifically designed to address the needs of innovative companies specifically those developing Web 2.0 type applications.”
Speaking on behalf of the Internet Growth Alliance* Colm Lyon, CEO of Realex Payments and founder of the Internet Growth Alliance said:
“The development of the Internet Growth Acceleration Programme is a great example of industry wide collaboration at work. All the stakeholders in the Irish Internet Industry believe in the opportunity and the global potential the internet has to offer Irish businesses. With all the relevant industry associations and some key business advisors working together we see the emergence of a very important building block – the iGAP. This programme will give Irish internet entrepreneurs access to worldwide and local expertise. It is comprehensive, focused and intensive in its construction. In addition it will offer Irish Internet Entrepreneurs the opportunity to meet and get to know many other people in the same industry – both experienced and emerging.
“The business advisors of the Internet Growth Alliance are delighted with the development and look forward to working with both Enterprise Ireland and the participating businesses as we identify and support Irish Internet businesses that will scale globally.”
This programme is a core part of Enterprise Ireland’s recently launched four-year strategy for the Irish software industry, which aims to drive the sector’s revenues to over €2.5bn by 2013 by capitalising on changes in the global software market. Outlining the importance of the Internet sector in this strategy, Jennifer Condon went on to say: “Internet based businesses will form an increasingly significant part of Ireland’s Software sector. Enterprise Ireland is working closely with our industry partners, in particular the Internet Growth Alliance, the Irish Software Association and the Irish Internet Association, to bring about sustainable change and growth in the sector. This programme is one of a number of initiatives to support these Internet companies in their drive to develop their businesses and grow globally.”
Further information on the programme visit www.enterprise-ireland.com/igap or contact igap@enterprise-ireland.com .
More about the Internet Growth Alliance
*The Internet Growth Alliance (www.alliance.ie) was established by a consortium of Irish entrepreneurs in conjunction with the Irish Internet Association, Enterprise Ireland, the Irish Software Association, the Institute of International and European Affairs, Web2 Ireland and the Digital Hub. The mission of the Alliance is to accelerate the development of Irish Internet businesses and the Internet Growth Acceleration Programme is at the core of its strategy.
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Cloud Computing survey: 65% of respondents believe Ireland is lagging but 85% of cloud computing projects are successful.
28th September, 2009 – In August 2009 the Irish Internet Association Cloud Computing Working Group conducted a market research survey to understand how Irish companies are responding to the cloud computing opportunity.
Presenting the results of the survey at the Cloud Computing Summit in Croke Park last week IIA Cloud Computing Working Group Chair, Gerry Power of Sysco Software Solutions said, “The fact that 85% of cloud projects in Ireland are successful and 94% of those who have deployed them plan to do so again is very encouraging data but negatives also exist. To counter these, our working group are taking two immediate steps: firstly, building consensus around a single definition for cloud computing to improve understanding; and secondly, publishing a whitepaper which will examine all the major obstacles identified to overcome the perception that Ireland is lagging and to help drive adoption.”
Power’s presentation at the Cloud Computing Summit focussed on the following survey findings:
· Respondent Profile
· Understanding of Cloud Computing
· Hopes for Cloud Computing
· Perception of adoption of Cloud Computing in Ireland
More details of these research findings and graphs follow below. Further details are available on request.
Respondent Profile
The survey was completed by over 200 respondents, 73% of who considered themselves Senior Management.
- 25% of respondents were vendors, 75% non vendors
- 26% work in Technology, 17% in Professional Services, 11% in Financial Services, 11% in Manufacturing and 10% in Public Sector.
- 47% work in mid market companies (> 50 employees) including 19% who work in enterprises with over 500 employees. 53% worked in SMEs with less than 50 employees.
- 35% work in General Management, 35% in IT with 13% working in Finance
- 73% are Senior Management
The survey revealed the following:
Poor understanding of Cloud Computing
Asked whether they had a clear understanding of cloud computing, 43% said no. When vendors were excluded, this lack of understanding grew to 54%. 43% of IT managers admitted they did not have a clear understanding and 85% of finance managers declared the same.
High hopes for Cloud Computing
Despite the lack of clear understanding, 43% have high confidence in the promise of cloud computing. Amongst the large enterprises, this confidence drops to 36% but 55% still have reasonable confidence in the promise. This was confirmed by the 21% who responded that they could see a business benefit compared to only 3% who did not. 76% declined to answer this question which may arise from the previously indicated lack of clear understanding of cloud computing.
29% of those surveyed have already deployed a cloud computing project and 85% of those projects were considered successful. When asked if they would use the cloud again, 94% said yes.
There is a significant perception that Ireland is lagging
65% of respondents believe Ireland is lagging compared to 33% who believe Ireland’s adoption is consistent with international adoption and just 2% who believe Ireland is leading as an early adopter.
Why?
- 26% feel lack of understanding is the major obstacle
- 22% believe broadband penetration is the problem
- 19% chose security concerns
- 14% have reliability concerns
The data was analysed further by categorising cloud computing applications into 9 types:
- Collaboration Applications
- Productivity Applications
- Business Applications
- IT Management
- Infrastructure on-demand
- Application development platform
- Finance Applications
- Core Business Applications
- Legacy Applications
In all categories, the perception is that Ireland is lagging. Respondents were asked to assess each category’s current maturity in Ireland. Collaboration applications scored the highest in terms of current maturity in Ireland. Respondents were also asked to indicate in each category their company’s current adoption and the maturity in each category they hoped to have reached in 3 years. In all 9 cases, current adoption lags behind current maturity and planned adoption exceeds maturity.
Graphs available on request. Please contact Roseanne Smith, IIACommunications Manager at members@iia.ie.
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1st Annual European E-Commerce Conference
This 1st event will focus on the most pertinent issues for the E-Commerce sector including privacy, security, advertising, competition policy and intellectual property. Key speakers are already confirmed including representatives from the European Commission, EU Parliament, the European consumer association BEUC, Amazon, eBay, Google, Microsoft, Visa, Phorm, MAQS, Symantec and many others (see list below). They will discuss what the new e-commerce pathway will look like, particularly given the changing Commission and Parliament, how far European policy making has come in respect of the regulation (or not) of the digital domain and what steps can be made to improve and support e-commerce as a potential driver for economic and social improvement.
Save €200 by registering before 6th October.
The conference which is supported by EMOTA will provide a consistent Brussels based platform and meeting point for all stakeholders involved in e-commerce.
Given the horizontal nature of e-commerce and its emergence as a key part of the European and global economy, the range of issues discussed will be of relevance to those operating in many sectors including financial services, telecoms operators, transportation and logistics, internet service providers, security and privacy operators, goods manufacturers and many, many more.
For the agenda and pricing: www.eCommerce-conference.eu or contact James Wilmott on +44 (0) 2920 783 022/ james.wilmott@forum-europe.com
Confirmed speakers include:
- Malcolm Harbour, Member, European Parliament (Chairman of the EP’s Internal Market and Consumer Protection Committee)
- Jacqueline Minor, Director, Consumer Affairs, DG SANCO, European Commission
- Monique Goyens, Director General, BEUC (consumer organization)
- Patrick van Eecke, Partner, DLA Piper
- Andrew Cecil, Director Public Policy Europe, Amazon
- Sebastian Mueller, European Policy Manager, Google
- Stuart Cooke, Senior Director, Industry Associations & Standards, Qualcomm
- Brooks Dobbs, Chief Privacy Officer, Phorm
- Thomas Myrup Kristensen, EU Internet Policy Director Corporate Affairs, LCA, Microsoft Europe
- Andrea Servida, Deputy Head of the Unit, Internet, Network and Information Security, DG INFSO, European Commission
- Rosa Barcelo, Adviser, European Data Protection Supervisor
- Peter Møller-Jensen, EU Government Affairs Director, VISA Europe
- Alastair Mitchell, CEO and co-founder, Huddle.net
- Brendan Reilly, Head of Northern European country product management, Deutsche Bank
- Luke Hendrickx, Director, Competitiveness of Enterprises & External Relations, UEAPME
- Monique Wadsted, Partner, MAQS Law Firm
- Alvydas Stancikas, Head of Unit, Enforcement of Industrial and Intellectual Property Rights, DG MARKT, European Commission
- Paul Excell, Chief Innovation Officer, BT
- Claude Rakovsky, Head of Unit, Antitrust and Mergers Policy and Scrutiny, DG COMP, European Commission
- James Waterworth, EU Affairs Director, Nokia & President, EDiMA
mobile internet
Must-have Irish Apps for iPhone
I went on a bit of an iPhone App download frenzy last night after reading about Apps.ie on Twitter. I noticed people tweeting about it on Friday I think but only last night did I have the time to check it out.
It’s a directory of iPhone Apps created by Irish developers. It was created by a group called XCake which is a loose affiliation of Cocoa developers (those who develop for Mac & iPhone) throughout the island of Ireland. You can find out more about them and even (and I like this) request an app on their Ning network.
Purely as a personal choice (rather than representing the IIA!) I downloaded Speed and AlphaBattle which is just impossible! (Okay maybe not a frenzy!) Previously I had installed Eirtext, Dublin Bikes, (created by IIA member company Fusio), Ireland’s Phone Book and ever hopeful crature that I am, the Lotto Results App. One thing I would say about that last one is that it is very basic and would be great, albeit generally a disappointment, if you could type in your numbers and find out if you won. I’m sure if you were a bus traveller in Dublin, the Dublin bus app could be good. There are tons more useful, fun and informative apps available so check it out. I was surprised not to see Pocket Universe there which is a great app (if only I could escape the sodium glare!) but my guess is that as more people hear about Apps.ie we’ll start seeing more apps listed. You can also see that I have the Bitbuzz
I also notice a few businesses have their apps listed too and I imagine we will see more of these coming online especially with the recent data reported about mobile internet by AMAS in the latest State of the Net. I would be interested in seeing more business oriented apps there too e.g. IIA Member Company Mobiun’s mCredit.
I’m looking forward to seeing many more apps coming online there and I’m glad that I found a place where I can post my random ideas for Irish apps in the future! Anyone for a best places to have a business meeting app?
State of the Net
State of the Net Issue 14 now available
The latest edition of the ever popular State of the Net is available in the Resources section of the IIA Website. Those of you attending Bizcamp tomorrow – I will have some with me if you would like to peruse a hard copy.
This month’s edition includes information and statistics about:
- Mobile Internet,
- Broadband uptake,
- Ireland’s Personas,
- Internet Use by age,
- Trust Online in Internet Transactions,
- eReadiness,
- and IIA Member Stats.
If you would like to download any of the graphs for reuse please visit the AMAS blog where they are available for download.
social media
Facebook and our eyeballs
This post started as a comment on Krishna De’s blog post about the recent enormous growth that Facebook have seen but I felt it was getting a little long-winded! In the last six months Facebook report that they have seen an extra 100 million users joining the service, bringing their total to 300 million active users. Krishna has posted a video of Facebook’s COO Sheryl Sandberg talking about what this growth means for Facebook. This video is well worth a look as Sandberg talks about how Facebook has seen constant growth not only in users but in cash flow through a recession, partly because of their strategy for creating engaging advertising and promotional models so head back over there to check it out.
What struck me about the information in this video and in Krishna’s post was the figure of 55 million users acessing Facebook via mobile. In the most recent State of the Net (available online later today) Three Mobile report that 43% of the mobile internet usage o ntheir network is to Facebook and Bebo. While I have not accessed Bebo from my mobile I do access Facebook on my iPhone. Their newest app is a vast improvement but I notice that there is no advertising! So I fail to see what it means to businesses that 55 million users are accessing Facebook via mobile when they’re not getting any of those eyeballs!
Then I wonder if Facebook is training me to get used to their app while they perfect it (because let’s be honest the previous incarnation of the app was as good as useless). While I’m getting used to and, I admit it, mildly addicted to this app, are they, in a similar way to how they rolled out and improved the functionality of their advertising online, working out the best, most social and engaging way to display advertising to their mobile users? No doubt those of us in Apps Anonymous will be the first to know!
Whatever their plans for our eyeballs there is no doubt that there is a place for business on Facebook now and I think that Facebook’s recent changes and developments in the way organisations can get involved in Facebook has had some hand in their recent growth. I’ve certainly been using Facebook more, including advertising and promoting upcoming IIA events from the IIA’s Facebook page. I’ll keep you posted on how that works for us but I know Puddleducks, an IIA Member, have been posting their progress with Facebook ads on their blog. Let me know if you have any further information about your organisation’s experience with Facebook ads. We’d love to roll it out as a Social Media Case Study.
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500 Entrepreneurs expected at Bizcamp on September 19th 2009
With thanks to sponsors 3 mobile, Bank of Ireland, Microsoft Bizspark,
Mason Hayes+Curran Solicitors and our supporters The Irish Internet Association and Enterprise Ireland
Panel discussion at 2pm "Taking the rough with the smooth – trading through difficult times" featuring the following panel of entrepreneurs:
Kevin Traynor – CEO www.sonicacademy.com
Kevin is the founder of Sonic Academy which he set up in Belfast in 2004 as a training facility for DJs and music technology enthusiasts, which has since become the premier facility of its kind in Ireland. A former drummer with one of Ireland’s most successful bands The Divine Comedy, it wasn’t long before he dumped the drums in favour of decks and began DJ’ing and promoting club nights between London and Belfast. Since then he has notched up appearances in Holland, France, Italy and Australia and played alongside some of the worlds’ best DJs from James Zabiela to Adam Freeland and DJ Dexter to Tiefschwarz.
Kevin was awarded the Prince’s Trust Young Achiever of the Year Award in 2005 for his work in setting up Sonic Academy. He also sits on the board of Disability Action Northern Ireland and the Northern Ireland Employers Group of Creative & Cultural Skills (the Sector Skills Council for the Creative and Cultural Industries).
Colm Lyons – CEO RealexPayments.com
Colm Lyon is Founder and Managing Director of Realex Payments. He is highly regarded as one of the foremost innovation leaders in the online payment processing business. His career has spanned almost twenty five years in payment related businesses, starting with fourteen years in the financial service sector.
Colm founded Realex Payments in 2000 and since then the business has grown rapidly to a position of inspired leadership in the online payment processing business. The payment exchange concept, which he conceived has proven to be the market winning approach in that it offers a strategic solution which addresses the core issues. Today Realex Payments process in excess of €6bn for 3,000 businesses.
Colm is a regular industry speaker. In 2005 he was acclaimed and rewarded for his leadership when he was a finalist of the Ernst and Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award. As an industry figure he was Director and Chairman of the Irish Internet Association for over four years – during which time the association significantly enhanced its position. He was invited (2008) by Enterprise Ireland to participate in the Steering Group to devise the strategy for the Irish Software Sector. In 2009 he lead the development of the Internet Growth Alliance (www.alliance.ie) with Ray Nolan and Dylan Collins which is working with Enterprise Ireland to develop a new support structure program for Irish Internet businesses. He is a graduate of University College Dublin with a Bachelor of Commerce and a Master of Management Science Degree.
Jerry Kennelly – Founder & former CEO of Stockbyte and Stockdisc – sold to Getty Images for over €110 Million.
As well as establishing and selling his highly successful stock images business, Jerry has been honoured by the Deloitte Fast 50 Awards and was named the Ernst & Young Emerging Entrepreneur of the Year in 2005. Jerry has been instrumental in the launch and roll out of the very successful Young Entrepreneur Programme which is aimed at fostering an entrepreneurship culture among second and third level students. He has spearheaded the programme since the concept was first mooted in 2006 with the Institute and Kerry Technology Park. Jerry is also central to the development of the recently launched Endeavour Programme.
Asheesh Dewan – Founder of Jaipur Restaurants and co-founder of Segala
Asheesh Dewan is the founder of Jaipur Indian restaurants, which employ over 100 people. With six restaurants in his group in Ireland, the most recent one being Ananda in Dundrum shopping centre, Asheesh is also the proprietor of Benares in London, one of the first Indian restaurants in the UK to be awarded a Michelin star. In March 2009, Asheesh was awarded the Ulster Bank Business Achievers Award and last year was named Permanent TSB Ethnic Entrepreneur of the Year 2008. He is also a co-founder of Segala, an IT company which specialises in web accessibility and mobile web standards compliance certification.
See who’s attending here
See the speakers schedule here
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BOI Business advice show, Cork
I’m just packing my toothbrush before getting the 6pm train to Cork for tomorrow’s Bank of Ireland Business Advice Show. The IIA took part in this show as part of the Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown Enterprise Week earlier this year. Unfortunately, we were unable to make it to the Galway show as our annual Congress was taking place around the same time.
As usual I would like to extend a welcome to any members of the IIA to come and join me at our stand to meet potential members and help me advise them. Obviously I could tell them in my sleep what the benefits of IIA membership are but sometimes living proof is good too. That’s where you come in!
Also representing the IIA I get asked all sorts of question about anything from Wifi to email to ecommerce to SEO to blogging. The latter two I can usually handle to varying degrees of success but I often wish there was an expert in web dev or design here to respond to these questions about developing a site, finding a good designer or eCommerce. So come along, you never know, you might drum up some business! So if you’re near the Maryborough House Hotel tomorrow from 2pm to 5pm pop in and say hello! This is your Association!
blogging
If you prefer reading
A while ago now myself and Damien Mulley participated in a podcast for Enterprise Ireland about blogging for business. The interview was conducted by Ralph Averbuch who was shortlisted in the Best Business Podcaster category in the Net Visionary Awards earlier this year.
However podcasts aren’t to everyone’s taste and the good people in Enterprise Ireland have transcribed the whole interview for those who prefer to read. You can access a PDF via their site here.
I hope you find it useful.
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Consumers: EU crackdown on websites selling consumer electronic goods
The clampdown covered 369 websites selling six of the most popular electronic goods to consumers in the EU – digital cameras, mobile phones, personal music players, DVD players, computer equipment and game consoles. It covered 200 of the biggest websites selling electronic equipment in the EU as well as more than 100 websites which were targeted on the basis of consumer complaints. The results of the checks carried out in May this year show that 55% of the websites investigated showed irregularities in particular relating to: misleading information about consumer rights; misleading information about the total cost of the product; or incomplete contact details for the trader. The initial checks by national authorities will now be followed by an enforcement phase when companies are contacted by national authorities and required to correct their websites or clarify their position. At this first stage, three countries – Iceland, Latvia and Norway – have published names of the websites covered by the investigation (see MEMO/09/379 ).
EU Consumer Commissioner Meglena Kuneva said: "We targeted websites selling electronic goods because I know from my own mail bag, and we know from the level of complaints coming into European Consumer Centres that these are a real problem area for consumers. We discovered that more than half of the retailers selling on-line electronic goods are letting consumers down. This is a Europe-wide problem which needs a European solution. There is a lot of work to be done in the months ahead to clean up this sector, Europe’s consumers deserve better."
The electronics goods market
The value of online retail sales of consumer electronic goods in Europe is ca. € 6.8 billion (2007), and about one in four EU consumers who ever bought anything online bought an electronic product (including cameras). More than a third of complaints regarding online sales handled by the European Consumer Centre Network in 2007, concerned the purchase of electronic equipment.
The sweep investigation
In May 2009, national enforcers (co-ordinated by the European Commission) checked websites selling electronic goods for compliance with three crucial EU consumer laws: the Distance Selling Directive, the e-Commerce Directive, and the Unfair Commercial Practices Directive (see MEMO/09/379 for more details).
The sweep investigation focused on 3 key areas:
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1. Contact information for the trader: Under EU law, there must be complete information about the name, geographical address and email address of the trader.
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2. Clear information about the offer (total price and clear product description): Under EU consumer law the online traders must provide clear information about the characteristics of the product, as well as the total cost (including taxes), all extra delivery costs and payment arrangements. The final price to pay must be the same as stated in the information provided before the purchase.
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3. Clear information about consumer rights: Under EU law, consumers must be provided with information about their EU "right to return" i. e. a good bought at a distance can be returned within a minimum of 7 days without giving a reason. The investigation also checked the accuracy of additional information provided about consumer rights e.g. warrantees, refunds.
The results
The results of the sweep investigation were as follows:
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55% of the 369 checked websites showed irregularities which are being investigated further. 13 % of the problematic sites will require cross border co-operation between national authorities. The most common problems found were:
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Misleading information about consumer rights (66% of problem websites) Buyers were either not informed at all or misinformed about their "right to return" – the right to cancel an order bought a distance within a minimum of 7 days and return the product without giving a reason. For example, they were told that the trader would not accept the product back, or that they could only have credit rather than cash refund. In other cases, consumers were misled about their right to have a faulty product repaired or replaced for at least 2 years after the purchase (e.g. they were told that they only had this right for one year).
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Misleading information about the total price (45% of problem websites). For example, information on the extra delivery charges was either missing or difficult to find. The extras were then added only at the final payment stage. Some other websites went as far as promising "free delivery" or an "all inclusive" deal, even though delivery charges were in fact applied.
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Missing or incomplete contact details of the trader (33 % of the problem websites). Details of the trader’s name, geographical address or e-mail address were missing or incomplete, so that they could not be contacted in case of problems.
What happens next?
Traders will be contacted by the national authorities and asked to clarify their position or correct the problems identified. Failure to bring a website in line with the law can result in legal action leading to fines or websites being closed. The EU wide enforcement results will be presented by mid-2010.
Samples of good and bad websites selling electronic goods:
http://ec.europa.eu/consumers/enforcement/sweep/electronic_goods/index_en.htm