These services accounted for 30pc of BT’s overall revenue this past year, rising by 13pc on last year – a pattern which may continue now the telco has moved into the mobile space for SMEs through a partnership with O2 Ireland.
While BT has been in the mobile market since 2002, this new venture will be both a product and service offering encompassing XDAs, BlackBerrys, mobile broadband and other SME-related communication requirements.
“Whether it’s a one-man business or a firm with €10m turnover and 48 employees, they are all trying to save money and find suppliers they can trust,” said Chris Clark, CEO of BT.
Although SME mobility is a strong focus, much of BT’s performance is a result of broadband uptake. The telco is the No 1 broadband provider in Northern Ireland with a 23pc increase in connections and is now the second biggest DSL broadband provider in the Republic with broadband connections growing by 24pc to 80,000 customers.
As a result of growth in BT’s wholesale division, there are now over 330,000 homes and businesses connected through its broadband services in Northern Ireland.
In the IT training sector, BT has the largest organisation in the country after the opening of the €1m centre in Dublin. With these resources, BT has seen its IT and technology retail website bring a 300pc increase in orders, significantly growing its client base.
While revenue grew by 4.3pc year-on-year to £771m, this was the result of a full year BT turnover of £20.7bn, only 2pc of an increase since last year.
By Marie Boran
Pictured: Chris Clark, CEO, BT and Graham Sutherland, CFO, BT announcing BT’s all-island financial results for year ending March 2008

The achievement has prompted Microsoft executives to declare victory in the console war.
“History has shown us that the first company to reach 10 million in console sales wins the generation battle. We are uniquely positioned to set a new benchmark for the industry,” stated Don Mattrick, senior vice-president of the Interactive Entertainment Business in the Entertainment and Devices Division at Microsoft.
“This year will be the largest in the history of the video game industry, with Xbox 360 leading the charge in the US and abroad,” he added.
“Reaching an installed base of 10 million consoles in the US is a significant achievement and an essential milestone on the road to market leadership,” said Billy Pidgeon, research manager at IDC.
The Xbox 360 has recorded global sales of over 19 million.
Microsoft announced that the launch of Grand Theft Auto IV online helped boost Xbox LIVE global membership to over 12 million this month. The Xbox LIVE service has doubled in membership over the past year.
“Perhaps more important is the Xbox 360 worldwide online base - 12 million Xbox LIVE gamers is the largest community in the connected console games sector, which represents the greatest growth opportunity in the console market and where Microsoft has been the leader for two generations,” said Pidgeon.
By Niall Byrne

The figure is a combination of global combined OEM (original equipment manufacturer) and aftermarket revenue.
“Much of the automotive market is playing catch-up, with many car makers this year seeking to upgrade their infotainment systems to match Ford’s SYNC technology,” commented Richard Robinson, principal analyst for automotive electronics at iSuppli.
“Automakers also are playing cost-down-and are pressuring their tier-one electronic systems suppliers to come up with innovative solutions that reduce costs and boost feature sets.”
In 2007, automotive infotainment systems revenue rose by 13.5pc over 2006.
Portable navigation devices (PNDs) were the strongest-growing segment in infotainment in 2007, with revenue rising 54.4pc compared to 2006.
However, storm clouds are gathering over the PND market, with questions arising over whether profitability can be maintained amid a freefall in selling prices and a wholesale bailout among investors due to profit warnings and slowing sales, said iSuppli.
While global PND market revenue growth will slow in 2008, it is still expected to come in at a robust 18.2pc.
Revenue from head-unit shipments rose 6.9pc in 2007, with the vehicle OEM sector in particular demanding higher feature specifications and more integrated designs. Revenue growth in this area will slow to 5.6pc in 2008.
Based on direct survey input from silicon suppliers, iSuppli estimates 18pc annual growth in 2007 for automotive infotainment-oriented, application-specific semiconductors, such as application-specific standard products (ASSPs) and programmable logic devices (PLDs).
Automotive infotainment semiconductor revenue as a whole is expected to rise by 8.5pc in 2008.
By Niall Byrne

The Blue Phase LCD television will be on show at the SID (Society for Information Display) 2008 event in Los Angeles from 18-23 May but will not be mass produced for commercial availability until 2011, according to Samsung.
However, Samsung said the technology will mainly be used in “TVs that require high-speed video reproduction”, so presumably it means a TV playing a Bond movie.
Blue Phase’s 240Hertz response rate will allow for more natural movement from video, but will also reduce the dead patches or bruising that can occur on an LCD monitor when too much pressure is applied.
As Blue Phase technology is not produced in the standard way, LCD monitors will give better quality images but also be more cost-effective to produce.
The term Blue Phase arose when researchers working on the technology noticed bluish hues on the LCD screen – let’s hope that has long since been sorted out and will not be visible when the machines become available on the market.
By Marie Boran

However, as the PC market’s adoption of DVD burners becomes saturated and increasingly commoditised, Blu-ray adoption will accelerate in 2009 and Blu-ray drives will become the majority of the total market value in 2012.
“DVD burners will remain the bread-and-butter business for optical disc drive (ODD)vendors,” said Wolfgang Schlichting, research director, removable storage at IDC.
“Despite Blu-ray’s win over HD-DVD in the format war, Blu-ray drive adoption will be limited in 2008 because of its high price and only moderate consumer interest.”
IDC said DVD burners will continue the race to become a commodity market. Aggressive volume manufacturers will continue to drive down the price, pushing technology leaders out of the mainstream ODD market.
Blu-ray disc (BD) won the format war over HD DVD, but similar to DVD and DVD burners, Blu-ray will need a three- to five-year ramp to reach mass-market volumes. New, affordable BD-ROM drives will lead the way for the BD format’s adoption.
IDC forecasts that over 100 million Blu-ray drives will ship worldwide in 2011.
By John Kennedy

In Dublin yesterday was Leo Hennessy, special advisor the European Space Agency’s (ESA) scientific directorate, who was aiming to encourage budding Irish astronauts to strive for the prestigious task.
“We’re looking at a new phase in the European astronaut corps and we’re hoping to recruit four astronauts to join the existing corps of 16. We’re expecting over 20,000 people to apply,” said Hennessy.
He explained that ideal candidates would have degrees in the sciences – particularly life sciences or physics and chemistry – or be experienced engineers. “Aviation experience would be a good asset. We’re also looking out for people with good intelligence, memory, reasoning, concentration and manual dexterity.”
Hennessy, who joined the ESA in 1987 after a career with ANCO (the precursor to FÁS), said the preferred age range would be between 27 and 37 years of age.
“The ESA is moving to exploration and is investing in projects that will eventually lead towards manned space flights to Mars.”
According to Hennessy, potential candidates will have to undergo a battery of psychological tests ranging from personality to aptitude and skills, to tests that will examine how applicants can work under pressure as part of a team in a confined environment.
“We want to see if they’re capable of analysing information quickly and in high-pressure situations to be sure their reactions wouldn’t be nasty, aggressive or impatient.”
After surviving the psychological tests, the candidates would then move on to high-level medical tests similar to what pilots must undergo. “Whoever is left will then go before a board interview process.”
Hennessy said there’s no reason why an Irish citizen should not form part of the new astronaut corps. “From my own experience, Ireland provides an excellent standard of education. Also, one of the requirements will be speaking fluent English. Another bonus is that Irish people have never been scared of competition.
“I wouldn’t have gotten the job in the ESA if I didn’t believe in myself. I have to say my time with ANCO prepared me well for it.
“The competition will be down to between four and eight individuals – it will be tough!”
By John Kennedy

And of course, what goes online stays online – blogging blunders are forever so a business should think carefully before it engages with customers on a blog, says Martin Murray , CEO of Interactive Return, a Dublin firm that helps clients with their online marketing strategy.
The worst case of business blogging gone wrong is the fake blog, otherwise known as a flog, where a business poses as an individual or organisation claiming to independently support the product or service.
High-profile flogs in the past have included Coca-Cola, Sony PlayStation Portable and Wal-Mart. All of these companies hired a PR agency to create a blog that looked like an enthusiastic individual who loved talking up their favourite product.
In the case of Coca-Cola, the company launched The Zero Movement blog. What was meant to look like the musings of a hip, young guy was in fact a blatant plug for the new Coke Zero drink, a rebranded Diet Coke aimed at men.
The content, which lacked authenticity, was soon rumbled as a Coca-Cola creation.
“If you are trying to lie or deceive people on purpose, you are going to get taken out. This is a two-way world that is (verbally) violent if people get caught lying,” says Robert Scoble, prominent Silicon Valley blogger, who was hired in the past by Microsoft to evangelise its brand online.
“I would never recommend a client to lie on a blog. The audience is too connected and too smart to get away with this and they love finding out if you have done something wrong!”
Murray acknowledges that some companies will feel they do not have the know-how or experience to write an interesting blog that will engage their target audience, but points out how easy it can be – write what you know.
“Rarely or never would I suggest an outsider does the blogging on behalf of a business; a blog doesn’t have to be written by the CEO – it can be by anyone as long as they are writing content they are expert on within the organisation.”
Simply put, ghost blogging doesn’t work, says Piaras Kelly, long-time blogger and account manager with the Dublin office of PR firm Edelman.
“If I was a company and was looking to begin a blog, it wouldn’t make sense to outsource the writing because they are not close enough to be passionate about the product or service you are selling.”
Giving your expert opinion on a specialised topic is a great way to contribute to a niche area, no matter how small, of a given sector and can establish your business as a thought leader, says Murray.
“There are so many areas here in the Irish market which haven’t been colonised yet that are crying out for somebody to take a thought leadership position on.”
Murray says currently there are no businesses in the consumer financial services, travel and accommodation, entertainment or public services sector in Ireland making themselves heard in the blogosphere, or blogging community.
Misguided marketing attempts aside, companies have created blogs for other not so wholesome reasons, says Murray.
Interactive Return specialises in search engine marketing (SEO), the science of getting seen on the web and says some companies will create a blog with the express purpose of getting the brand noticed in a search engine ranking.
“Sometimes the raison d’etre for getting a blog might be simply to build links to your own website and that is not reason enough to have a blog.
“You should be doing it because your company has something unique to say and you want to get it out there, not to get a higher ranking on Google,” adds Murray.
However, forewarned is forearmed and a business manager should not be afraid to have his or her say online, as long as it’s useful.
“The biggest thing is that you don’t want to fill it up with propaganda because nobody will be interested in reading that,” says regular blogger and director of Murphy’s Ice cream, Kieran Murphy.
“A blog on why your company is so great would make for a boring read but talking about what your company has been doing lately wouldn’t be.”
The second biggest no-no is to fail to engage, says Murphy: “It would not be in a business’s interest to ignore or simply delete a comment on its blog which it felt was negative. It should be addressed.
“If readers are using your blog to tell you how much they hate a product or service, you would do well to listen. One comment might be the work of a crank but 60 or 70 people expressing dissatisfaction is a wake-up call and a free marketing tool to boot.”
However, there are people who will visit your blog with the express purpose of making abusive or insulting comments in order to get attention, and these people are known as trolls.
Social media consultant, Damien Mulley, says this shouldn’t be off-putting or convince a business to ban readers from commenting or interacting, after all interaction is what builds a community around your brand or product.
“To begin with, choose five or six prominent bloggers, even the contrary ones, and tell them you are setting up a blog and would like their feedback.
“I always tell companies that they need a while to get used to that writing style, so to keep the blog private for a while and use the feedback until they are ready to launch publicly,” says Mulley.
When entering the blogging world for the first time as a corporate outside, you can feel like you have turned up at a party, you know nobody and don’t know who to introduce yourself to.
“This preparation means you have five or six allies who can vouch for you straight away and do the introductions for you.”
Another essential tip for the business blogger is to play it straight. Piaras Kelly from Edelman says there is always a need for moderation on a blog, be it for stopping spam comments or perhaps foul language.
“Depending on the company, there are instances where you will have a reason for moderating but you have to be transparent about that. It is fair enough as long as you are upfront and have a disclaimer saying ‘This is what we deem appropriate’.
On the other hand, social media consultant Mulley feels all moderation is bad and comments from readers, negative or otherwise, must be addressed.
“There may only be two comments on your blog post but there could be hundreds of readers and there will be more readers tomorrow, next week and even next year.
“The important thing to realise is that you are not just responding to that blogger, you are defending your product or service to all readers.”
Why blogging can just be the sweetest thing
For those who dismiss blogging as a waste of time, there are always a few shining examples of the business benefits of engaging with an online community.
One such company is Ice Cream Ireland, a lively blog run by Kieran Murphy, director of Killarney-based Murphy’s Ice Cream.
What started out as a platform to try out some of his new ice cream and dessert recipes landed the company a book deal with Mercier Press for Murphy’s Book of Sweet Things.
“The important thing for a business blog is simply to give the reader something they want. Nobody is interested in me writing: ‘Today I mopped the floor and after that I scooped some ice cream’.
“For most readers that something is knowledge: in my case, it is my recipes as well as insights into what’s happening in and around Killarney.
This in turn creates an intimacy with the reader, putting a human face on the business which is really the main motivation behind Murphy’s entry into the world of blogging.
“Sometimes it’s hard for a business to project an intimacy with the customer. A company website can be extremely corporate, so it is very important for a blog to allow personal interaction.
A large or even medium-sized business might not feel that a blog has a place in their online strategy, but Murphy says consumers are often fascinated to know what goes on in the head of the CEO.
“If someone like Michael O’Leary had a blog talking about travel hotspots, I’m sure it would be extraordinarily popular. Besides, a bigger company has an edge because it has a larger customer base.”
By Marie Boran

In certain segments, such as the telecom equipment market, emerging markets will overtake developed markets, the company said. By 2011, IT spending in telecom equipment will reach US$263.5bn in emerging countries, while in mature markets it will account for US$236.5bn, Gartner forecast.
Although there is still a huge gap in the absolute sizes of emerging and mature ICT markets, emerging regions are rapidly catching up with mature markets in IT investments, leading Gartner to suggest that a ‘borderless state’ will prevail within the ICT industry by 2015.
In this dispensation, organisations, including governments, will increasingly source their ICT from around the globe without regard to the ‘country of origin’ or ‘headquarters’ of the vendor supplying the solution, be it software, hardware, telecommunications, IT services or people.
“Rapid IT growth in emerging nations is removing borders in business that will impact everyone. Even if you have no direct operations in China or India or anywhere else in the emerging world, your suppliers are probably there and so are some of your partners and customers,” said Partha Iyengar, vice-president and distinguished analyst at Gartner.
“Organisations must learn to trade and compete with these rapidly transforming, highly organised companies, which leverage low-cost, highly skilled labour sources. If they do not, they will be at a significant competitive disadvantage.”
This new dispensation is most visible in the IT services sector where Indian ‘mega vendors’ such as TCS, Infosys and Wipro are increasingly considered for strategically important deals involving multiple services when competing against today’s traditional global leaders.
The main Indian IT services providers have been growing at a faster rate than the traditional global leaders in this field.
“Vendors must consider other emerging markets as a source of future competition and opportunity,” said Ian Marriott, research vice-president, Gartner.
“High-quality vendors will not only be coming from China and India in the future. Regions such as eastern Europe, Latin America and relatively untapped portions of Asia/Pacific are now viable locations for offshore services.
“CIOs must understand the future growth plan of their organisation into many other parts of the world. Possibility to access services in these countries, such as Argentina, Vietnam and Romania, will provide opportunities but there will be challenges in developing the governance required to effectively manage this new breed of vendors.”
By Niall Byrne

Sanford Wallace, the man behind the mass unsolicited emails, was previously head of Cyber Promotions, a spamming firm that had legal entanglements with Time Warner and had earned him the nickname Spam King.
Last year, Wallace and his business partner Walter Rines, created 11,000 fictitious profiles from which they sent over 700,000 junk emails.
The court also produced evidence that the spamming duo had hacked or hijacked 300,000 existing MySpace profiles from which they posted over 800,000 comments linking to commercial websites.
MySpace’s chief security officer, Hemanshu Nigam, said the site has “zero tolerance” for those engaged in illegal activity on it and hoped this judgement would send a message to spammers that they will be caught and act as a deterrent against future spamming.
However, the spamming duo did not turn up for the court sitting and this landmark amount may never actually find its way into MySpace’s hands.
By Marie Boran

This is up from US$5.5bn at present. Juniper Research includes social networking and user-generated content (UGC), and mobile search and mobile instant messaging (IM) in its cache of mobile web 2.0 activities that will drive this revenue growth.
The increase will be driven by changes in user behaviour, with users becoming creators of content as well as consumers of it.
The social web will also be a core driver of the mobile web.
“Combining the power of the social network map – namely, ‘who I know, how I know and where I know’ – with that of mobility, presents the greatest opportunity for revenue generation of any of the applications as defined within Juniper’s mobile web 2.0 framework,” stated Ian Chard, Juniper research analyst.
“The phone is carried with us most of the time and contains a huge amount of personal data, making it a logical extension for the social network and a host of other collaborative web 2.0 applications being mobilised.”
Juniper Research’s studies found that total global revenues for mobile social networking and UGC will rocket from US$1.8bn in 2008 to US$11.2bn in 2013, accounting for 50pc of the mobile web 2.0 market.
Over this period, growth in mobile search and mobile IM will be more measured.
Service revenues will account for the majority of total mobile web 2.0 revenues, Juniper Research said.
By Niall Byrne