Best Connected

Published March 10th, 2010 by David Scanlon

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The Enterprise Ireland eBusiness Unit’s use of the Twitter micro-blogging platform got a recent thumbs-up from the good folk at ENN (see “Web Pick”), so I thought I’d provide a bit more detail on what we’ve been up to that might warrant such praise.

The eBusiness Unit host and maintain an online discussion forum / mailing-list dedicated to all things Web-related. The purpose of the forum is to provide a friendly and practical space where participants can feel comfortable asking questions and raising issues that are important to them, regardless of their level of knowledge of eBusiness. The forum has been existence for a number of years, and has quite an active community, discussing (often heatedly!) topics ranging from recommendations for Content Management Systems, to domain registration issues, and that old reliable, Search Engine Optimisation.

One of the problems with the forum has been trying to get an understand of it’s reach, largely due to issues with the technology used. Although consistently referred to as a forum, it’s actually powered by a mailing list (Lyris ListManager) – members receive email updates as each new posting is approved, or they can choose to receive a daily digest. To create a new post, registered members simply send an email to the automated list manager email address. However, Lyris also provides a web interface that allows registered users to submit new posts, and an archive feature that allows both registered and unregistered users search previous posts. Lyris provides stats for email deliveries, so we know how many people are receiving the messages each day, but for a long time we had no way of knowing what sort of traffic was going to the archive – which was a shame as we felt that there was some really good content there, and it would be a shame if it was going to waste. After a struggle, we managed to get Google Analytics (GA) installed, and the stats it revealed were pretty disappointing…

The above graph from GA shows Page Views from November 16th 2009 (when GA was switched on), until December 31st 2009 (Full dashboard report is here). The figures are extremely low, not withstanding the spike on December 7th when our fortnightly newsletter is pushed out to subscribers. One of the most disappointing issues for me was that the vast majority of our traffic was direct, with less than 2% coming from the search engines. Lyris isn’t well optimised from an SE perspective, but I thought that the domain age and contents would still have weighed in its favour.

Over the Christmas break I had come across a new web-based app called dlvr.it, which allows you to push an RSS feed to a Twitter and/or Facebook accounts, and gives some nice shiny stats on click-throughs and reach (note: there are plenty of other services that do likewise). Lyris does have an RSS feed switched on by default, so I created a new Twitter account (@entirl_eforum) and plugged them together using dlvr.it. Each post to the forum creates a new tweet, which consists of the thread title, and a shortened link to the forum, see below:

The first tweet went out on January 15th 2010, and the account has been chugging along ever since. I use my own Twitter account to give it a push every now and again, plus the team at ENN (who moderate the discussion forum on EI’s behalf) have been occasionally re-tweeting the content as well. The account has 67 followers as of February 25th, and the growth has been quite strong, increasing ten-fold over the past month:

According to the dlvr.it stats, over the past month we’re averaging 15.6 clicks per post, with an “average extended reach” of 435. So what does this look like on the GA stats?

Looking at the period from when the Twitter account was switched on until today, and comparing it to a comparable previous period, we saw a 113% increase in Page Views, and a 104% increase in Visits. We still haven’t made much of an impact on our search engine traffic however – it actually fell by 18% on the previous period, so we’ll need to work on that. Referrals from Twitter went from 9 to 93 (a 933% increase!), I’m guessing that the shortfall between this figure and what dlvr.it is reporting can be ascribed to the number of people using 3rd-party applications such as Tweetdeck to interact with Twitter. Full GA report for the period is here.

This is far from a rigorous scientific study – for instance, I’m not taking into account the difference in the number of threads posted on the forum during the two periods being compared. Despite this, the increase in traffic has been substantial, with only the smallest amount of resources needed to set the new delivery route up. Hopefully the Twitter account will continue to gather followers and we will see increasing levels of engagement on the discussion forum.

Published March 8th, 2010 by royscannell

The Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment last year published their 10 step guide to Innovative Public Procurement. This guide outlines key stages in the development and implementation of a successful public procurement contract.

Enterprise Ireland’s New Public Procurement Mandate is specifically mentioned at point four where buyers are called on to “find out what the market can provide”.  Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment 10 Step Guide

Using Enterprise Ireland’s extensive knowledge of Ireland’s indigenous SME’s a public sector procurer can seek market engagement at an early stage in the procurement process so as to allow the emergence of new and innovative solutions to meet new public sector needs.

Click Here for the full guide to innovative procurement

Are you involved in the buying process for a public sector organiation? Find out how Enterprise Ireland’s dedicated Public Procurement Team can help you by replying to this post.

Published March 8th, 2010 by AndrewPeet

If you’re a software company, cracking the US Market is hard. One option is to work with a partner, but finding a partner is the easy part. Understanding the partner, and making it successful for both parties takes a lot of time and effort. Microsoft is the partner of choice for many software companies, which is why Enterprise Ireland has been running joint events with Microsoft to enhance the partnering experience.

The latest, and one of the most important joint Microsoft – EI events, is Paul Solski’s visit to Ireland. It will be useful for existing Microsoft Partners and companies partnering with other vendors both in the US and other key export markets. There will be a public event ‘Succeeding in the US Market – Best Practices for Software Companies’, 23rd March 2010 at Enterprise Ireland, Eastpoint , Dublin.

Paul Solski is the Managing Director of The OpenBorders Group in North America. Together with The OpenBorders Group executive partners in Germany and the UK, he build Microsoft’s Open Borders Program which helps Microsoft ISVs expand internationally, four years ago. Paul worked at Microsoft in the roles of ISV Strategy Director and Dynamics ISV Sales Director from 2004 to 2008. Paul has over 25 year experience in international business development having worked in prior roles at HP, Intel, Compaq, Digital and SCO distribution in Australia, Asia and USA. He holds an Electrical Engineering degree from the University of NSW in Sydney, Australia.

If you are interested in attending this event, please contact Irene[dot]Sadleir[at]Enterprise-Ireland[dot]com .

Full Agenda

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Published March 4th, 2010 by royscannell

The Supply National SME Engagement Programme is sponsored by the National low value contract portal of the UK supply2.gov.uk. It forms part of a national strategy to increase SME engagement with the Public sector market worth around £175bn annually.

According to BiP Solutions nearly three quarters of all UK operating SMEs never or rarely tender for the 3,000 publicly tendered contracts available in the UK each month. – BiP Solutions

These workshops, designed to increase SME engagement with the UK public sector are delivered in each of the regions highlighted in the picture below and deal extensively with the following themes;
(1) Creating a Competitive Advantage
(2) Winning Business Through London 2012
(3) Understanding Pre-Qualification Questionnaires
(4) Effective Tender Writing
(5) Meet the Buyer (Details TBC)

These workshops are delivered by BiP Solutions on behalf of Supply2Gov and are charged at a flat rate of £75 each. 

Published March 3rd, 2010 by John Magill

Some of my colleagues in Enterprise Ireland were debating the other day an ongoing SaaS issue – whether it is an all or nothing business model or can you run your old on-premise business hand-in-hand with your new SaaS business, i.e. a ‘Hybrid Model’.   Salesforce.com and other SaaS zealots go for the purity of SaaS only and see the hybrid model as a bastardisation that will ruin both businesses.   The issue I think is more fundamental than alternative ways of applying technology, it is about leveraging your company’s strategic strengths through the key generic strategies of cost leadership or differentiation.

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Published March 2nd, 2010 by brendanfay

In February, Enterprise Ireland organised 2 workshops for clients planning to export into the North American market. These workshops were held for clients from all sectors from Life Sciences and Clean Tech to Software and Services companies.

On the day, clients heard real-life case studies of technology companies who are doing business in the North American markets and both the pitfalls and successes for companies were highlighted. The First Flight programme highlights to start-up companies how Enterprise Ireland can assist in their markets of interest through the following routes:

• Validation of Market opportunities through desk-based research and in-market itinerary development
• Assisting with market positioning in advance of market entry
• Conducting competitor analysis studies
• Proactively delivering market intelligence on key areas of opportunity
• Identifying and assessing distribution channels
• Providing customized in-market itineraries
• Providing access to external market expertise
• Undertaking post market visit assessment and follow up

Enterprise Ireland is subscribed to a large number of databases and research houses that provide key up-to-date information on the majority of market sectors. If the information is not available through these sources, Enterprise Ireland can prepare an individualized report on a particular market sector. Enterprise Ireland can work with companies to identify target customers and identify and assess distribution channels. This type of work is carried out on a one-to-one basis and is specific for each company.

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Published March 1st, 2010 by manusrooney

From September 9th – 14th 2010 Amsterdam RAI will host the IBC Conference & Exhibition. See www.ibc.org for exhibitors and the conference program.

IBC is committed to staging the world’s best event for professionals involved in CONTENT CREATION, MANAGEMENT and DELIVERY.

IBC2009 attracted 45,000+ visitors and 1,300+ exhibitors from more than 130 countries.

If clients are planning to attend, they should get in touch with Jan Jaap Dijkman (janjaap.dijkman<at>Enterprise-Ireland.com) or Patrick Torrekens (patrick.torrekens<at>Enterprise-Ireland.com)
at Enterprise Ireland.

Published February 25th, 2010 by paulbrowne

Microsoft BizSparkCamp with Enterprise Ireland and TechLudd

Where and When?

• Monday, March 8^th – 9am to 7pm (including PitchSlam & Networking)
• Radisson SAS Royal Hotel, Golden Lane in Dublin’s city centre.

Registration Details

• Visit the TechLudd site to sign-up!

Event Overview

As part of the local BizSpark programme, Microsoft Ireland, Enterprise Ireland and TechLudd are delighted to announce BizSparkCamp 2010 featuring Innovate! PitchSlam – an event designed to help accelerate Irish Startups’ businesses and provide the opportunity to be identified as one of the world’s most promising technology start-ups. This day-long conference will run on Monday, March 8^th (doors open 9am) in the Radisson SAS Royal Hotel in Dublin’s city centre. Entrance is free of charge.

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Published February 25th, 2010 by paulbrowne

HBAN are dedicated to promoting Angel investment and supporting the early stage entrepreneurial community in Ireland. They work to create an eco-systems that promotes and supports early stage investment market. They are also actively working to increase the number of Angel investors who are interested in investing in early stage companies.

HBAN also acts as a voice to Government, stakeholders, business and the media to promote the interests and needs of the Angel and early stage investment community.

HBAN have recently launched a new LinkedIn Group to support their work in matching Angels to Entrepreneurs. Take a look at the HBAN LinkedIn Group here.

Published February 24th, 2010 by John Magill

As I have mentioned previously Enterprise Ireland is running a programme to transition ten on-premise software companies into a SaaS business model.   At the start of the programme we thought the biggest issue to be tackled would be the technology of delivering a SaaS solution.   And by we I include the CEO’s of the ten companies.   While the technology element is obviously a key issue, what has emerged from the programme is that the biggest challenge facing the companies is the development of a new business model.  The type of questions the CEOs are now asking themselves are: What is the new business message?   What is the new marketing pitch?   What is the marketing vehicle?   What is the revenue model?

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Published February 24th, 2010 by paulbrowne

Meet and engage with Innovate!100 finalists in Dublin March 8th

Produced by Guidewire Group, the Innovate!2010 Pitch Slam in Dublin will feature 10 to 15 Innovate!100 finalists selected from the local region who will give rapid-fire pitches about their startup.

Each startup will receive invaluable feedback from a panel of expert judges, and everyone in the audience will get a chance to select their favorite Pitch Slam presenter. Sign up today to meet and mingle with entrepreneurs, investors, press and other members of the innovation ecosystem at this special networking event!

The Innovate!2010 Program is being supported by a prestigious group of market-leading companies like Best Buy, HP, Motorola, O2 Litmus, RIM, SAP, Sun, SWIFT and Verizon, dozens of early-stage investors, and marquee media partners. Learn more about sponsorship and partnership opportunities, or how to serve as a Pitch Slam judge.

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Published January 14th, 2010 by David Scanlon

I recently had the opportunity to meet with James Lawn, the CEO of Polecat, an EI-supported High Potential Startup (HPSU). James visited us at our East Point offices to demo Polecat’s primary product, MeaningMine, a web-based market intelligence platform, as well as to discuss some opportunities for growth.

The platform works by scanning over 200,000 articles and four million plus blog posts daily, and helps companies build an accurate picture of how their marketing message is being received in the online sphere, as well as gain a deeper understanding of what is being said about given topics. What particularly caught my attention is that MeaningMine is semantically analysing this unstructured data using domain-specific ontologies and Natural Language Processing techniques; in essence, the platform attempts to understand the meaning of what is being said online, creating more relevant results which (hopefully) will lead to better decisions. Very Web 3.0

The technology is partly based on the excellent work carried out by Professor Pádraig Cunningham and his team at the UCD School of Computer Science and Informatics, and was licensed to Polecat in conjunction with NovaUCD. I think this is an excellent example of collaboration between the Irish business and academic worlds, leading to the development of a market-leading product, something we will hopefully see much more of in the future.

Published January 12th, 2010 by manusrooney