A round-up of other tech stories in brief
Celtrino to double workforce to 50
Irish business-processing company Celtrino is to double its workforce to 50 over the next three years as part of its international expansion.
The company, which is supported by Enterprise Ireland, is to focus initially on the UK market. It recently switched from an EDI system to the use of a cloud computing platform.
Celtrino, formerly Celerity, processes more than 16 million invoices annually. Its clients include Musgrave, Unilever, HSE and Londis Group.
EU data suggests electronic and automated invoice processes can achieve business savings of 80 per cent. However, electronic invoices now constitute only 5 per cent of invoice volume in Europe.
APTX signs deal with US tech giant
Belfast-based audio software company APTX has signed a technology licence deal with US electronics giant Laird Technologies.
The US firm supplies electronic components for a vast array of consumer electronics goods – from mobile phones to MP3 music players and BMW car antennas.
Laird will pre-program APTX's software into a new range of semiconductor modules for Bluetooth wireless connectivity, which will greatly improve stereo audio quality.
"This deal with Laird is very exciting as it opens up new markets for APTX, especially in high-volume audio gadgets," said Stephen Wray, licensing sales manager with APTX.
Synergy centre seeks start-ups
The Synergy Centre at the Institute of Technology in Tallaght (ITT Dublin) is looking for start-ups to take up residence at its serviced office space, after a number of former tenants expanded to their own premises.
Synergy Centre, home to more than 20 early stage companies, provides tenants with access to free professional training programmes, monthly networking events and one- to-one mentoring clinics.
The venue also offers boardroom facilities, free Wi-Fi, secure car parking and an on-site café.
Microsoft's free versions of Office
Microsoft has released free online versions of its Office programs – Word, Excel, PowerPoint and OneNote – which allow users to view, edit and share Office documents from within a web browser.
The stripped-down versions of the desktop software can be accessed at office.live.com. Users need to have a Windows Live ID to get access.
The service was released with little fanfare earlier this week and is available to users in the US, Canada, Ireland and Britain. Although the interface has been simplified, the documents look and feel like the standard web-based version.
Up to now, Google has dominated the market for online productivity tools.
