A digest of the top business technology news stories from the past week.
41pc of Irish firms plan to increase IT spend in next 12 months – research
Forty-one per cent of Irish companies plan to raise their spending on ICT over the next year, with 36pc of IT managers citing business or competitive advantage as the top reason for this expenditure, new research suggests.
The research has been published this past week by industry journal ComputerScope, in association with O2.
The survey of 267 Irish IT managers conducted during July and August also showed that the main drivers of IT spend were cost reduction for 21pc of respondents, “keeping the lights on” for 17pc of IT managers, and facilitating an increasingly mobile workforce for 16pc of respondents.
72pc of Irish IT companies expect international sales to grow in coming year
Seventy-two per cent of Irish IT companies expect international sales to grow over the coming year, according to the results of the ISA Digital Technology Index (DTI), the quarterly sentiment survey conducted among Irish technology companies.
“According to the recent ISA DTI, eight out of 10 indigenous IT companies plan to hire over the next three months, while it found that 63pc of Irish companies are more confident about their business now, compared to three months ago,” said Irish Software Association (ISA) chair Edel Creely.
Ireland’s indigenous software and digital IT sector is growing, with almost 730 Irish-owned digital technology companies employing more than 10,000 people and contributing €1.8bn to the economy.
Google invests €5.5m in The Foundry to mark 10 years in Ireland
Internet search giant Google has marked its 10th anniversary in Ireland with a new €5.5m digital innovation centre in Dublin City called The Foundry.
The Foundry will hold more than 80 events in Dublin between now and the end of the year, which will be attended by 5,000 business people from across Europe.
It is anticipated that The Foundry will bring in about 15,000 extra business tourists to Dublin annually.
Twitter reveals it has filed for an IPO – in a tweet!
Twitter has filed for its much-anticipated initial public offering (IPO). In a tweet, the microblogging service announced it submitted an S-1 to the US Securities and Exchanges Commission (SEC) for an IPO.
The tweet on Thursday read: “We’ve confidentially submitted an S-1 to the SEC for a planned IPO. This Tweet does not constitute an offer of any securities for sale.”
Goldman Sachs is the lead underwriter in the planned sale of stock.
Twitter acquires MoPub for US$350m to up its game in mobile advertising
Social network Twitter has acquired mobile advertising start-up MoPub for an estimated US$350m in stock.
MoPub’s technology lets mobile application publishers manage their inventory and optimise multiple sources of advertising – direct ads, house ads, ad network, and real-time bidding through the MoPub Marketplace – in a single product.
Kevin Weil, Twitter’s VP of Revenue Product, wrote in the Twitter blog: “The two major trends in the ad world right now are the rapid consumer shift toward mobile usage, and the industry shift to programmatic buying. Twitter sits at the intersection of these, and we think by bringing MoPub’s technology and team to Twitter, we can further drive these trends for the benefit of consumers, advertisers, and agencies.”
Groupon buys last-minute travel app Blink
Daily deals provider Groupon has acquired last-minute travel app Blink for an undisclosed sum, in a move to bolster its Groupon Getaways’ travel business.
Blink, which is based in Madrid, Spain, works with more than 2,000 hotel partners in eight European countries.
Under the deal, the Blink app will be rebranded ‘Blink by Groupon’. The team behind the app will operate independently as it develops an integrated experience that leverages Groupon Getaways’ global travel offers.
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