A round-up of today's other stories in brief
European tech firms to hire in 2006
Almost 60 per cent of European technology firms expect to hire more people in the next year, according to a survey by Eurocom Worldwide and its Irish partner Simpson FT PR.
The survey also found that one in three firms in Europe are finding it more difficult to recruit than last year. Software engineers are most in demand, followed by project management specialists and international salespeople.
PC maker Lenovo to cut 1,000 jobs
Lenovo, the world's third largest personal computer maker, said yesterday it would cut about 1,000 jobs, or 5 per cent of its work force, to slash costs following last year's acquisition of IBM's PC business for $1.25 billion (€1.04 billion).
Lenovo said the lay-offs were part of a restructuring plan aimed at achieving some $250 million in annual cost savings. It said it expected to incur $100 million in restructuring related charges in its fiscal fourth quarter, which ends on March 31st.
The restructuring will be completed in six to 12 months. - (Reuters)
3G part of Irish firms' tech plans
About 43 per cent of Irish organisations see 3G as part of their telecommunications and technology plans for 2006, a survey carried out by iReach showed. The technology is likely to post "substantial growth" this year, iReach said.
While many executives are aware of the benefits of 3G, they should follow a definite strategy to ease headaches in the implementation of the technology, iReach advised.
Racing service live on Vodafone
Sports channel Setanta and online betting firm, the Betting Site, have teamed up to provide a new 3G portal service to enable Vodafone Ireland customers to view horse racing on Vodafone Live! for the next 12 months.
The service debuted earlier this week, when it allowed subscribers to watch video footage of the first Cheltenham race just minutes after the race.
Vodafone Ireland customers can view any race for €1 each or can subscribe to the Sports Unlimited Package for €2.99 a week.
Fineos names its US vice-president
Fineos, a Dublin-based developer of packaged software solutions for the insurance and banking industries, yesterday named Alex Young as executive vice-president of its US business.
Mr Young, who has more than 15 years' experience in the insurance industry, will be responsible for all of Fineos's new business sales and account management in the region. He will lead the US operations from a regional office in Boston.
Aon in CRM deal with Salesforce
Salesforce.com, the market leader in on-demand customer relationship management (CRM), said insurance broker Aon Corporation has standardised its enterprise CRM on salesforce.com.
The move will enable Aon to have a consistent view of customers and vendors across its business units, Salesforce.com said. Aon has customised Salesforce to meet the specific needs of each of its divisions.
Oracle version of Navteq to be made
Dublin-based eSpatial, a leading Geospatial platform provider, said it would begin making Navteq's map data products available in an Oracle 10g format for enterprise applications.
Navteq is a US provider of digital map data for location-based solutions and vehicle navigation. eSpatial said that by providing Navteq products in an Oracle format, organisations could more easily integrate location capabilities into their line of business systems.
