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IIA Christmas Holidays
The IIA office will be closed from the 23rd Dec until 3rd Jan 2006 for the Christmas. We wish all our members a happy Christmas and prosperous new year.
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IEDR reduces prices by 20% for .ie internet domains
IEDR reduces prices by 20% for .ie internet domains
Wednesday, 14th December, 2005: The IE Domain Registry (IEDR), the managed registry for Ireland’s .ie domain names, has today announced its most significant price reduction to date; a 20% price reduction for new .ie domain registrations and renewals of domains with effect from 1st January 2006. This latest price reduction follows a series of price cuts, including 12.5% in January 2005 and 10% in January 2004.
The 20% price reduction has been introduced as a result of high growth rates of registrations, which have now surpassed 54,000, positioning .ie domain names as the Irish market leader, with 46% of the market. The surge in growth of registrations is largely driven by the IEDR’s internal process improvements, a buoyant economy and by the national roll-out of broadband, leading to an increased number of Irish businesses and consumers harnessing the full potential of the internet.
Commenting on the price reduction, David Curtin, the Chief Executive of the IEDR, said: “The IEDR is committed to giving consumers value for money, by taking the appropriate steps to reduce costs. The continued streamlining of our operational and administrative systems has enabled us to pass on the benefits of these efficiencies to our customers.”
For information:
Niall Quinn, Gibney Communications – 01 661 0402 / 086 827 4829
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Blacknight Internet Solutions choose twinfield online accounting
Twinfield Ireland has implemented the Twinfield system for Blacknight Internet Solutions, one of Ireland`s leading Internet Service Providers. Blacknight provides hosting solutions to a fast growing client base with clients operating all over the world.
To manage their expanding business from an accounting point of view was becoming a real challenge. Blacknight was, therefore, looking for a solution that would cater for their needs today but that could also grow with them. It had to be scalable, flexible and it had to be implemented within a short timeframe. Blacknight chose Twinfield as it not only matched those criteria but it also allowed them to automate the import of sales invoices from their online billing system Modernbill www.modernbill.com , thus almost removing manual data entry completely.
Previously Blacknight used a traditional accounting package on a license basis which was installed on one of their office computers. They also had to take care of the maintenance, including backups and upgrades of this package themselves. With Twinfield they now have an accounting service which is completely managed for them. The service is accessed using an internet browser and no software is installed locally.
No time is spent anymore on backing up data or re-installing software which gives them a huge time-saving. “An added benefit is that our accountant has now direct access to our accounts and is able to review our transactions on an ongoing basis.” says Blacknight CEO, Michele Neylon.
Blacknight offers its clients the flexibility to pay their invoices with a wide range of payment methods, ranging from credit card payments, pay-pal, direct debit and bank transfers with the added complexity that these payments can be made in different currencies.
For a business like Blacknight it is a real challenge to account for a high volume of payment transactions. With the Twinfield system it is possible to manage the multiple bank and credit card accounts easily and because of Twinfield’s unique way of processing statements it does away with a reconciliation process completely.
When operating any type of software package in-house the real cost only starts after you purchase the software. And because this cost is often hidden in the overhead in for example wages, it is not always transparent how much a particular package is costing the business.
“The beauty of a managed service like Twinfield is that the monthly charges include both maintenance and support. Besides your internet access cost there is no other cost for the business” says Martin Langedijk, Managing Director of Twinfield Ireland. “Our clients pick and choose which functionality they need and we charge them accordingly. When their business grows and they require more advanced accounting features we can activate those features in a matter of minutes.”
Michele Neylon: “Like every other business owner I rather spend my time on providing our service than on our accounting. Being an online company we were immediately drawn to the Twinfield solution, realising the benefits it could give us. Twinfield have really delivered and have implemented their solution we are already seeing the results.”
Martin Langedijk: “Blacknight is a company operating in a niche market with specific requirements when it comes to accounting. With the flexibility of the Twinfield system we were able to provide them with tailored solutions and have the system up and running in a short time without the need for extensive software development or training. We will continue to work with Blacknight to assist in making their accounting processes even more efficient in the future”.
About Blacknight Solutions:
Blacknight Solutions is a 100% Irish owned company specialising in serving the hosting and co-location needs of business, both large and small. The company has a philosophy of providing innovative high quality technical solutions to business. Blacknight are members of the Internet Service Providers Association of Ireland www.ispai.ie , and the Irish Internet Association www.iia.ie.
About Twinfield:
Twinfield was founded in 2000 in The Netherlands, and has won various awards and nominations for innovation in e-Business. Twinfield is the no. 1 in online accounting in Europe, and is used by more than 15,000 subscribers in 20 countries. Twinfield’s services have been entirely developed for use over the Internet (web architected) and are available online, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Twinfield’s web service has been certified for accounting purposes. Twinfield is represented by Twinfield Ireland in the Republic of Ireland with offices in Carlow. Twinfield Ireland is a member of the Irish Internet Association www.iia.ie .
Contact: Martin Langedijk
Telephone: 059-9164294
Website: www.twinfield.ie
E-mail: mlangedijk@twinfield.com
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EU Directive on Data Retention
Issues with new EU Directive on Data Retention. The IIA has considered the recent EU Data Retention Directive. There are quite a number of issues relating to internet data and how it is stored and processed. ISPs may be particularly affected if the proposed directive becomes law. some of the issues raised include :
– the technical feasibility of the directive
– the implications for ISPs and Telcos
– the personal privacy issues
– the actual effectiveness of data retention as a terrorism prevention tool
The IIA intends to hold an event in the near future to discuss this important development. If you are interested in getting involved in presenting or discussing your viewpoint at this event please contact us.
A PDF is available to download here containing the draft Directive.
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IIA Net Visionary Press Coverage
The IIA enjoyed good coverage of its Net Visionary Awards. It was featured in the main section of the Irish Independent (24/11) and the eThursday section (24/11) featured one of the winners – John Kennedy. There was also a feature in SiliconRepublic.com and a future feature in ComputerScope. Fergal O’Byrne was interviewed for the Down to Business show on Newstalk 106 for a discussion on how the internet is impacting on traditional newspaper sales. The winners of the Net Visionary Awards was featured in ElectricNews.net.
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Irish Internet Association in the Press
The IIA obtained some excellent coverage in the media this week. New CEO Fergal O`Byrne was a guest on RTE’s The Afternoon Show and was asked to discuss some websites that take the hassle out of our lives. He got to mention some IIA member websites, some of which have been short-listed of the upcoming Net Visionary Awards. He was also on Anna Livia radio talking on the Engineers Ireland show about his new role with the IIA.
Michele Neylon, CEO of Blacknight Solutions, spoke to Newstalk 106 about the ongoing threat of malicious diallers. Diallers are small software programs that `hijack` your dialup connection, replacing your ISP`s number with a premium rate number. Most of these malicious programs get installed when PCs are not protected. As Neylon pointed out, users need to ensure that they keep their anti-virus software up to date. Antivirus software is only as good as the last update and vendors need to remind their customers of this. With antivirus software, such as F-prot, selling for as little as €30 per annum every PC should be protected. Free software such as “Spybot Search and Destroy” help keep your PC clean of malware. As PCs are treated more and more as household objects users need to remain aware of security issues.
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IIA Appoints New CEO
The Irish Internet Association is pleased to announce the appointment of Fergal O`Byrne as its new CEO. Fergal will be starting in the role with immediate effect. Commenting on the appointment Colm Lyon, Chairman of the IIA said, “We are delighted to have Fergal on board. The Internet Industry in Ireland is currently in a very positive cycle – the momentum of the last two years has continued and it has transformed now into sustainable growth. Against this background the IIA has become more relevant than ever and during the last year this has translated into more events and more members.
The IIA expects this growth to continue and it looks forward to working with Fergal in devising the plans and strategies to make the IIA the catalyst by which its members meet, learn and trade. Fergal is well familiar with the Internet Industry in Ireland and he has demonstrated a clear ambition to make the IIA an integral part of this industry.”
Fergal O`Byrne has been involved in the internet industry since 1995. He sits on a number of boards and was awarded the IIA/MSN Internet Marketer of the Year Award in 2004.
The Irish Internet Association (IIA) is the professional body for those conducting business via the Internet from Ireland. It has been and remains one of the driving forces behind the adoption of the medium. Established in 1997, the IIA is a non-profit business association. Membership of the association includes suppliers of Internet services and products as well as those using the medium for communication, marketing and commerce.
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Shortlist for 2005 IIA and Cheetahmail Net Visionary Awards Announced
The shortlist for the 2005 IIA and CheetahMail Net Visionary Awards has been selected (please see below). This year over 100 individuals were nominated for awards. Over 400 people will join us when we announce the category winners at a Gala Black Tie Ball in Clontarf Castle, Dublin on 17 November 2005. There are only a few tables left for the Net Visionary dinner and award ceremony. To book your tickets click here
Social Contribution
Damien Mulley ~ Ireland Offline – www.irelandoffline.org
John Breslin ~ Boards.ie – www.Boards.ie
Naoise Kavanagh ~ Concern – www.concern.net
Technology Journalist
John Kennedy ~ siliconrepublic.com – www.siliconrepublic.com
Matthew Clarke ~ Electricnews.net – www.electricnews.net
Stephen Cawley ~ mediateam.ie – www.mediateam.ie
Innovation
Garfield Connelly ~ Smart Telecom – www.smarttelecom.ie
Derek Quinn, Kevin Gill & Bob Hoffman ~ NewAddress.ie – www.newaddress.ie
Eamonn Fallon & Brian Fallon ~ Daft.ie – www.daft.ie
eGovernment
Alan Kelly ~ FailteIreland – www.failteireland.ie
Barbara Delaney ~ COMREG – www.comreg.ie
Peter Finnegan ~ Dublin City Development Board – www.dublin.ie
Internet Marketer
Conor Lynch ~ RaboDirect – www.rabodirect.ie
Fiona Sexton ~ TMP Monster – www.monster.ie
Majella and Mark Tarbatt ~ Cork Aid To Sri Lanka / Nino Doll Project – www.ninodoll.org
Web Designer
Alan O`Rourke ~ Spoiltchild Design – www.spoiltchild.com
Ed Kelly ~ Continuum – www.continuum.ie
Lisa Westermann ~ Red Sky – www.redsky.ie
Web Developer
Illias Shaik ~ IrishJobs.ie – www.irishjobs.ie
Kevin Gill ~ NewAddress.ie – www.newaddress.ie
Morgan Lynch ~ Strata3.com – www.strata3.com
Online Trader
Des O`Mahony ~ bookassist.com – www.bookassist.com
Fergal Barry ~ Aer Arann – www.aerarann.com
Stephen McKenna ~ GoHop.ie – www.gohop.ie
Educational Contribution
John Hurley and Michael Hallissy ~ Teach Net / Digital Hub – www.teachnet.ie
Matt Glowatz ~ Matt Glowatz – www.mattglowatz.com
Peter Finnegan ~ NovaUCD – www.novaucd.ie
Internet Enterpreneur
Andy Osborn ~ trustmeimathief.com – www.trustmeimathief.com
Eamonn Fallon & Brian Fallon ~ Daft.ie – www.daft.ie
Michele Neylon ~ Blacknight.ie – www.blacknight.ie
Mobile Internet Application
Gerry Owens ~ Mobile Mortgages – www.mobilemortgages.ie
John O`Shea ~ Zamano – www.zamano.ie
Barry O`Neill ~ Upstart Games – www.upstartgames.com
This year the Headline sponsor for the awards is Cheetahmail (http://www.cheetahmail.co.uk). We would like to thank our headline sponsor and all our category sponsors for this event. We look forward to seeing you all at the Awards.
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IIA NEW BOARD ANNOUNCED FOR 2005/06
After the AGM on the 30/09/2005 the IIA are pleased to announce the new board for the coming year:
Chair: Colm Lyon of Realex Payments
Vice Chair: Morgan McKeagney of iQ Content
Treasurer: Patrick Tully, also assisting as Operations Director.
Fergal O`Byrne has also been re-elected to the Board.
Other Directors remaining are:
Eoin Kennedy of Slattery Communications
Don McAleese of Matheson Ormsby Prentice
Dermot Nolan of Bank of Ireland
Eoin Costello of Novara I.T.
Fergus O`Hehir of BWG, Barry Rhodes of INEX and David Long of Zeraphina have stepped down from their duties as Directors and the IIA would like to thank them for their efforts over the past year.
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Nominees for Net Visionary voting announced
Voting for the 2005 Net Visionary Awards will commence on Monday 26th of September and close on the 14th of October 2005. Nominee details for each category are featured below. Please ensure that you include your name, company and email when voting to ensure a validated vote.
Social Contribution
Sponsored by: IE Domain Registry www.iedr.ie
Fergal Breen – www.irishdev.com
John Breslin – Boards.ie
John Hurley and Michael Hallissy – Teach Net / Digital Hub
Naoise Kavanagh – Concern
Majella and Mark Tarbatt – Ninodoll.org
Mark Matthews – Simlico
Peter McDevitt – Goal
Damien Mulley – Ireland Offline
Keith McManus – Trocaire
Jim Slye – www.irishfunerals.com
Technology Journalist Award
Sponsored by: MRPA KINMAN Communications www.mrpakinman.ie
John Kennedy – siliconrepublic.com
Stephen Cawley – mediateam.ie
Matthew Clarke -Electricnews.net
Innovation Award
Sponsored by: Netsource www.netsource.ie
Aaron Clauson – Blueface Ltd
Alan Hore – Construction Information Technology Alliance
Allan Brennan – Wireless Projects
Barry Chandler – Barkeep.ie
Canice Lambe – PixAlert
Derek Organ – Jeebers
Derek Quinn & Kevin Gill – NewAddress.ie
Eamonn Fallon – Daft.ie
Garfield Connelly – Smart Telecom
Michael FitzGerald and Louis Crowe – Cucoco Ltd
Niall Turley – Arguscarhire.com
Paul de Lacy – Clever Stuff / Disgo
Paul Ledwidge – InterFusion Networks
Rahul Rana – Ecom Ireland
Sarah Carroll – Eventznet/Neo Ireland
E-government Award
Sponsored by: AIB www.aib.ie
Alan Kelly – FailteIreland
Barbara Delaney – COMREG
Brendan Nicholson – LGSCB
David Joyce – Cork City Council
Peter Finnegan – Dublin City Development Board
Rory O Hanlon – Oireachtas
Internet Marketer
Sponsored by: Euroconex www.euroconex.com
Ciara Keogh – Aro
Colin Boyd – Arguscarhire
Colin Meagle – Continuum
Conor Lynch – RaboDirect
Fiona Sexton – TMP Monster
John Nolan – PixAlert
Keelan Cunningham – Red Sky
Majella and Mark Tarbatt – Cork Aid To Sri Lanka / Nino Doll Project
Mark Campbell -Electronic Media Solutions
Niamh Ni Mhuir – Web Reservations Intq
Thomas Doyle – 2bscene.ie
Web Designer Excellence
Sponsored by: Blacknight Solutions www.blacknight.ie
Alan O`Rourke -Spoiltchild Design
Andrew Lovatt -Redmoonmedia
Angel Luis Gonzalez -Quomo Multimedia
Donal Thornton -Clearscape
Ed Kelly – Continuum
Ian Walsh – Webtrade
Kerryn Sues – Esearch
Lisa Westermann – Red Sky
Marc Doyle – Bluebloc Digital
Orla Larkin – Blueface Ltd
Peter Kelly – Fluent Design
Rahul Rana – Ecom Ireland
Sandra Doran – Web Reservations Int
Web Developer Excellence
Sponsored by: Brightwater Recruitment www.brightwater.ie
Anthony Cole – Continuum
Colm McBarron – iQ Content
Des O`Mahony – Bookassist
Drew Shiel – Sports Interaction
Fiachra Kelly – Webtrade Limited
Illias Shaik -IrishJobs.ie
Karl Glennon – Webtrade Limited
Kevin Gill – NewAddress.ie
Maurice McGrath -Webtrade Limited
Michael Behan – Open System Solutions
Morgan Lynch – Strata3.com
Senan O`Tuama – TMP Monster
Online trader
Sponsored by: Realex Payments www.realexpayments.com
Aileen McGinn – Boyle Sports
Brendan Hughes – VHI
Conal McCallion -eBookers.ie
Cormac McKenna – CBG.ie
Des O`Mahony -bookassist.com
Fergal Barry – Aer Arann
Geoff Boyle – 123.ie
Grainne Barry -Anotherfriend.com
Lulu O`Sullivan -4giftsdirect.com
Niall Turley – Argus Car Rentals
Stephen McKenna – GoHop.ie
Tony / Dermot – Direct Ski
Educational Contribution
Sponsored by: Newsweaver www.newsweaver.ie
Matt Glowatz – Matt Glowatz / UCD
John Hurley and Michael Hallissy – Teach Net / Digital Hub
Peter Finnegan – NovaUCD
Internet Entrepreneur
Sponsored by: Hosting 365 www.hosting365.ie
Aaron Clauson – Blueface Ltd
Andrew O`Shaughnessy -Newsweaver
Andy Osborn – Trust Me I`m A Thief
Barry Chandler – Barkeep.ie
Dylan Collins – Demonware
Eamonn Fallon – Daft.ie
Greg Thurley -Arguscarhire.com
Hugh Durkin – Comado
Jack Donaghy – Webtrade
Jean Philippe Guguen -www.terreireland.com
Jertemy Byrski – Central R
Julian Douglas -Entertainment.ie
Mark Campbell -Electronic Media Solutions
Martin McKay – Texthelp Systems
Michele Neylon -Blacknight.ie
Philippe Joly – Prepay.ie
Ross Cooney – Cyber Sentry
Mobile Internet Contribution
Sponsored by: Zeraphina www.zeraphina.com
Declan Foley – Advanced Field Solutions
Gerry Owens Mobile Mortgages – ESB
John O`Shea – Zamano
Barry O`Neill – Upstartgames.com