The imminent flotation of Spectel will be an interesting test of whether there is revived demand for software investments, after the collapse in the market for anything techie over the past couple of years.

But Spectel has some positive things in its favour. For a start it actually makes a profit - a bit of a novelty for those of us accustomed to writing about tech companies reporting losses many times their actual turnover and where the cash burn is the most pertinent financial statistic.

The Spectel flotation will also be a test for the Irish stock market. It is the first flotation of any significance for many moons, and Anglesea Street must be fervently hoping that nothing goes amiss with this new arrival on the market.

In fairness, the prospects for the flotation look good. Spectel is a far more attractive investment prospect that most of the over-hyped tech dross that has found its way onto the market for the past couple of years. But with a starting market cap of around €220 million, the company is still going to need some unique selling points to register on investors' radar screens.