Month: April 2022

DBIC Ventures leads €1.6M seed investment in Clarity CX1 – 30 jobs created

DBIC Ventures today announces that it has led a €1.6M funding round in industry cloud CRM company, Clarity CX1. The investment will be used to fuel Clarity CX1’s global growth plans, supported by 30 new jobs over the next two years.

Established in February 2020, Dublin-based Clarity CX1 develops tailored CRM solutions built on the Salesforce Lightning platform. The solution was developed to fill a gap in the market for strategic sales and relationship management in sectors with notoriously complex and multi-layered customer engagement structures, including life sciences, manufacturing and financial services. It is tailored for each industry and allows users to rank and manage opportunities strategically, providing the user with a detailed understanding of where to focus their efforts.

The investment will be used to support Clarity CX1’s go-to-market strategy, which includes international expansion. The company is targeting large multinationals operating in the US, Asia-Pacific, Europe and the UK and is currently implementing CX1 with Stemline Therapeutics, a subsidiary of Menarini Group based in Italy. Clarity CX1 estimates that the addressable market for its services is approximately $11BN per year and it expects to reach revenues of €1M by year-end 2022. This growth, along with the investment, will support the creation of an additional 30 jobs – bringing Clarity CX1’s total headcount to more than 40, with the majority being based in Dublin.

DBIC Ventures led the seed round, investing via its latest fund. Launched in 2019, the fund is highly active and is investing in up to 30 highly scalable, export-focused Irish software and MedTech companies up to year-end 2024. The fund is backed by leading Irish technology entrepreneurs and business leaders, as well as Enterprise Ireland. Also contributing to the funding round were business angel investors from Halo Business Angel Network (HBAN); Enterprise Ireland; Tribal.vc; and Spark Crowdfunding.

Clarity CX1 is a spinout company of Clarity Engagement Solutions, which since 2009 has been providing strategy consulting and virtual training solutions to 8 of the world’s top 20 pharma companies.

Chris Deren, CEO and founder, Clarity CX1, said: “Industries like pharmaceuticals, manufacturing and financial services have large voids in their CRM systems because of their extremely complex B2B  sales cycles. Sales teams are engaging with multiple stakeholders of varying seniority in multiple departments: it is not only a headache, but it delays revenues. We are providing users with the insights to make the best use of their time and therefore shorten the sales cycle and pursue more qualified opportunities.

 “We are delighted to have the backing of DBIC Ventures as we go to market. They have not only provided us with capital, but also the experience, knowledge and network of contacts that are so important at this early stage. With this support – along with the financing – we will be able to scale globally at pace.”

Colm O’Sullivan, Partner, DBIC Ventures, said: “This significant investment underlines the founder’s impressive track record and the clear global market need for Clarity CX1. The company is pursuing an aggressive growth strategy and targeting some of the world’s most profitable industries.

 “DBIC Ventures invests in, and partners with, highly ambitious start-up teams to support their growth plans. I am excited to be joining the company’s board and working with the Clarity CX1 team as the company scales rapidly.

National Broadband Ireland Progress Update

NBI, the company rolling out the new high-speed fibre broadband network under the Government’s National Broadband Plan (NBP), has today issued a progress update which is showing strong momentum across all 26 counties.

By year end 2022, NBI is on track to deliver:

  • Premises under construction to grow by 43%, to 221,000 homes (40% of the 7-year target)
  • Premises available to order* set to increase by 266% to 128,000 homes
  • Premises passed^ to grow by 219% to 102,000 homes

Specifically on take-up, NBI reports take-up rates of over 30% already in Deployment Areas that have been live for a period of 6 months or more.

David McCourt, Chairman of National Broadband Ireland said: “The leading indicators give us confidence that this ambitious project can and will be delivered on time and on budget. During 2022, 221,000 premises or 40% of the entire Intervention Area will be under construction, up from 28% last year. At the same time, we anticipate that 128,000 premises will be available to order on the NBI Network. Our ability to move premises from the construction phases to the order phase is seriously ramping up which means users can reap the benefits of the transformational network sooner.”

NBI Chief Executive Peter Hendrick said: “Early take-up of services on the NBI network are already exceeding 30% in many of the initial deployment areas and it’s growing all the time, something we see as a really strong indicator of future demand. By comparison with any national or international comparison this is indicative of very high uptake levels, substantially ahead of initial expectations. Ultimately, we are confident of an overall take-up of approximately 85% and already have some 50 broadband providers signed up to sell services on the NBI network. This platform competition is expected to bring significant benefits directly to consumers by ensuring that bundled voice, broadband and TV packages offer real choice at competitive prices.”

Tech Review – Cocoda phone holder for motorbikes e-scooters and bikes

Need a little something to take your device out of your hand well this accessory is what you need to look at now, the Cocoda phone holder for motorbikes e-scooter and bikes is just the thing, lets be honest when have we not seen either above holding their phone on the go, this product eliminates this altogether keeping you and the driver safer which is what we all want and with the huge growth in e-scooter users yes this also works on those to with how they are mounted and east to set up and maneuver into the position best suited to you.

This comes in several parts and has a ball joint socket on the rear and is easy to move around, you have rubber gripping so it will not damage your phone and a sturdy mount in general and it will not budge no matter what you apply it too. I tested several devices on this holder in my own bike, e-scooter and my daughter also tried it out and it is a simple effective affordable product you should have.

Features

  • √Four Corners Full Protection: Cocoda bike phone holder features four non-slip silicone cushions that completely wrap your phone, which keep your phone from scratches and vibration. Ensure the safety of your phone without any shaking even on rugged roads. No worry about phone’s falling.
  • √One-Hand Operation: Quickly install/release your phone with one hand in 1s. Open red security-lock on back. Take your phone off. Convenient to answer calls or take photos on the scenery of the journey.
  • √360-Degree Rotation: You can easily adjust the orientation of the phone according to personal preference, which is convenient for you to answer the phone, play music, GPS positioning during the riding. No blocking Face ID and Fingerprint Unlock. Operate freely.
  • √Wide Phone Compatibility: Universal bike phone holder for 4.7-6.8 inches phone with thickness up to 15mm (including phone case), compatible with iPhone 13 Pro Max/13 Pro/13/13 Mini/12 Pro Max/12 Pro/Galaxy S21 and other cell phones.
  • √Multifunctional Use: Equipped with 2 silicone gaskets for you to adjust the mount base. 20-35mm diameter is not only suitable for handlebars of bicycles, motorcycles but also for stroller, shopping cart, electric scooter, indoor treadmill, spin bike. You can use it in all respects of your life.

BUY 

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CWSI raises funding of €21M and acquires Dutch security specialist BLAUD

CWSI, Ireland’s most experienced mobile and cloud security specialist, today announces the acquisition of BLAUD, a mobility and security specialist based in Utrecht, Netherlands. To complete this acquisition and to support ambitious growth plans to become a leading pan-European cloud and mobile security provider, CWSI has secured new funding of €21M, which includes both debt finance and equity investment.

Equity investment has been secured from Castlegate Investments, a private equity and family office firm. A new debt facility from a major Irish bank has also been established.

BLAUD will become a wholly owned subsidiary within the CWSI Group. Its 20 employees, including CEO and co-founder Thierry Lammers, have joined the group.

Following the acquisition, which is CWSI’s first on mainland Europe, it forecasts that group revenues will grow to more than €20M in 2022. The European and UK markets are expected to contribute 75% of the overall revenues.

Servicing both the private and public sectors, BLAUD provides technical, consulting, support, and managed services to customers across Unified Endpoint Management (UEM), Mobile Threat Defence (MTD), and enterprise application/software development. BLAUD has more than 100 direct clients and also runs a successful channel partnership programme.  Clients include Smurfit Kappa, Amsterdam UMC, the Dutch Department of Waterways and Public Works, and law enforcement organisations.

CWSI is headquartered in Dublin and provides mobility and security solutions to enterprise and government customers both directly and through partnerships with global telecommunications providers including Telefonica, Telstra and Hutchison Whampoa (Three).

CWSI will extend the market for BLAUD’s application development services into the UK and Ireland. BLAUD’s customers will be able to access CWSI’s wide range of technical skills, resources and channel partnerships, including its dedicated Microsoft Security Practice, backed by its Microsoft Gold Security competency and membership of the Microsoft Intelligent Security Association (MISA).

This latest deal for CWSI follows the acquisition and successful integration of UK-based cyber and cloud security services provider AVR in April 2021.

Roy Barrett, CEO of Castlegate Investments, said: “We are pleased to partner with Ronan and his proven management team to enable CWSI to execute on its strategy to build a leading, European cybersecurity business.”

 

Thierry Lammers, co-founder and CEO of BLAUD, said: “CWSI and BLAUD share the same DNA of enabling organisations and their employees to work productively and securely from anywhere, on any device. I look forward to working with CWSI to continue to find new ways to create value for our customers and solve their security challenges.”

Ronan Murphy, co-founder and CEO of CWSI, said: “I’m delighted to welcome Thierry and the team at BLAUD to the CWSI Group. There is a strong overlap in our solution areas, value propositions and company cultures and both organisations have strong representation in the Criminal Justice and Public Health sectors.  Bringing the two business together creates one of the largest and most experienced mobile security teams in Europe.

“This exciting new chapter of the CWSI story wouldn’t be possible without the support of our new equity investors and I look forward to repaying their confidence in us as we execute on our buy and build strategy to create a leading pan-European provider of cloud and mobile security solutions.”

Remitly to create 120 new jobs with expansion of strategic operations in Cork

Remitly Global, Inc.  (“Remitly”), a leading digital financial services provider for immigrants and their families, has announced it will increase operations in Cork, creating approximately 120 jobs over the next six months.

Established in Seattle in 2011, Remitly employs over 1,800 full-time equivalent employees either working out of our headquarters in Seattle, Washington, at one of our seven other office locations around the world, or remotely. The mobile-first provider of remittances and financial services for immigrants has served over five million customers globally across more than 75 currencies.

In June 2020 Remitly established its Fraud and Compliance Centre of Excellence in Cork and in that time has grown to more than 100 employees. In this next phase of growth, Remitly will be hiring roles that include Customer Protection Associates, Customer Success Team Managers, Program Specialists and Compliance Analysts.

Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise Trade & Employment Leo Varadkar said: “Congratulations to the Remitly team on this expansion, which will see the creation of 120 new jobs at the company’s office in Penrose Dock. Great news for Cork and I’m sure the company will have no problem filling the new roles with the wealth of talent in the area. The very best of luck.”

“As Remitly continues to grow, we’re incredibly excited to nearly double the size of our talented team in Cork this year,” said Rene Yoakum, Chief Customer and People Officer at Remitly. “We are working to transform the way immigrants send money globally and doing it in a way that is truly customer centric. We look forward to welcoming 120 new Remitlians to the team who share our passion for serving customers, solving fascinating problems and having fun with talented colleagues.”  

Remitly has recently taken nearly 20,000 sq ft at Penrose Dock, a new Grade-A office complex at the heart of Cork’s new docklands.

Fiona Nagle, Director, Global Risk Operations said: “We’ve already hired 110 employees in Cork and are currently recruiting for 120 additional roles, growing the Cork team to 230 team members this year. The opportunity to build the Cork team with local, and customer-focused talent is exciting.”

Dermot Kennedy, Director, Ireland Operations said: “IDA Ireland has supported our team in a business-friendly environment and has a strong record of collaboration found here.  Industry alignment is also key and we have been able to partner with University College Cork and Cork Institute of Technology, which is exciting for us as we look to our future in Cork.”

CEO of IDA Ireland, Martin Shanahan said: “Today’s announcement by Remitly is very good news from a company that has experienced rapid growth in recent years. Remitly’s presence in Cork strengthens the South West region’s FinTech cluster. Its plans for its Fraud and Compliance Centre of Excellence is a strong vote of confidence in the highly skilled and talented workforce available in the region. I wish Remitly the very best with this expansion.”

Remitly is currently hiring across a series of functions including, Customer Protection Associates, Compliance Squad Investigators, Compliance Analysts, Program Specialist and Customer Success Team Managers. To explore opportunities at Remitly Cork visit https://www.remitly.com/ie/en/careers

ZHIYUN SMOOTH 5 and CRANE M3 crowned Red Dot Award Product Design 2022 winners

ZHIYUN, the world’s pioneering gimbal innovator for cameras and smartphones, has been awarded the prestigious Red Dot Award: Product Design 2022 for two of its products; the ZHIYUN SMOOTH 5 and the ZHIYUN CRANE M3.

The CRANE M3 won in the Camera and Camera Equipment category while the SMOOTH 5 was selected for the Accessories section, a subcategory of the Mobile Phones, Tablets, and Wearables category.

The products were selected in a hybrid judging process where ZHIYUN presented the SMOOTH 5 and the CRANE M3 to the jurors via video calls and answered questions on the products. The Red Dot Jury is made up of some 50 international design experts. The judges test, discuss and evaluate each entry individually.

ZHIYUN’s Head of R&D, said:
“At ZHIYUN, we are honoured to be awarded with the Red Dot Award Product Design 2022 for our arduous R&D efforts in gimbal technology innovation and breakthrough. It is our continued intention to bring premium product experiences to global video creators with our boundary-breaking inventions.”

The winners of the Red Dot Awards will be officially celebrated at a ceremony that takes place during the Red Dot Gala in Essen on 20 June 2022.

One of the world’s largest design competitions, the Red Dot label mark is synonymous with excellence in design. Only winners of the Red Dot Award can use the coveted Red Dot label, which is both high profile and has an international reputation.

The ZHIYUN CRANE M3 is a 3-axis camera gimbal. It is an ultra-versatile vlogging companion which at its launch, sported  five industry firsts, including its diminutive size, hot-swapping capabilities, built-in 800 lumen light and microphone. Information on the ZHIYUN CRANE M3 can be found here: https://www.zhiyun-tech.com/en/product/detail/479?type=website&page=second_nav&source=detail

The ZHIYUN SMOOTH 5, a smartphone gimbal allows users to take Hollywood-style shots ​​with its easy-to-use control panel, strong, powerful magnetic fill light and upgraded motor performance and algorithm to create the perfect shots.

More information on the ZHIYUN SMOOTH 5 can be found here: https://www.zhiyun-tech.com/en/product/detail/490

Further information on the Red Dot Awards can be found here: https://www.red-dot.org/award

Mobile Network Experience in Ireland – Opensignal analysis

Opensignal is the independent global standard for analyzing consumer mobile experience. Their industry reports are the definitive guide to understanding the true experience consumers receive on wireless networks.This week’s report reveals a strong performance from eir, which picks up wins in 13 of 15 award categories, including outright wins in Upload Speed Experience, 5G Upload Speed and 5G Reach. Check out who  is topping the charts below. In the report we see that 3 remains the outright with consistency but with their data outage recently some might have a different opinion regarding 3

eir wins both upload speed awards

Opensignal’s Irish users observed the fastest average upload speeds on eir’s network — both for 5G Upload Speed and for overall Upload Speed Experience. For 5G Upload Speed, eir scored an impressive 23.7 Mbps, giving it a lead of around 4.8 Mbps (25.3%) over 3 and Vodafone. On Upload Speed Experience, eir wins with a score of 9.7 Mbps — 0.6 Mbps (6.5%) faster than second-placed 3’s 9.1 Mbps

3 is the outright winner for Excellent Consistent Quality

The highest proportion of tests from users meeting the minimum recommended performance thresholds for watching HD video, completing group video conference calls and playing mobile games was seen on 3’s network — making 3 the sole winner of the Excellent Consistent Quality award. 3 with its score of 73.5% commands a 1.7 percentage point lead over second-placed eir’s score of 71.8%, while Vodafone places third with 68.1%.

Users found 5G in the most locations when using eir’s network

eir is the sole winner of the 5G Reach award, as our eir users on average saw a 5G signal in the the highest proportion of locations out of all the locations they visited — with a resulting 3.7 points on a 10-point scale, comfortably ahead of 3 and Vodafone’s statistically tied scores of 1.7-1.8 points.

The fastest average 5G download speeds were seen by our users with 3 and eir

3 and eir are joint winners of the 5G Download Speed award with statistically tied scores of 182.3-189.9 Mbps — around double that of Vodafone’s score of 92.4 Mbps.

You can access this week’s report here.

How to Find Anyone Online with Just a Name

Have been looking for your long lost high school pal? It can be difficult to find people if you have limited information about their identity. Fortunately, there are many online resources that can guide you to the person even if all you’ve got is a name. 

The beauty of all search engines is that they will provide information from all sorts of websites. For instance, the results will show you the profile of your subject if he has registered in the best casinos in Ireland. Below we will discuss the social networking portals and search engine tricks you can use.

Find Someone without the Last Name

The probability of finding someone is higher if you know their city, last name and first name. However, online searches can still produce results if you know their city and first name.

Search engines are recommended for searches that are limited to the first name. Below we’ll discuss how to find someone with just a first name.

The first name might be enough when finding a popular or famous individual like Tupac or Neymar. However, it won’t be enough if the name is common. It’s therefore advisable to also include other details like their profession, their hometown or where they study. Type these details into Yahoo, Bing or Google and go through the search results.

Alternatively, you can click on the Images tab if you know how the individual looks like. This method is quite effective when normal searches fail. Other effective search engines include DuckDuckGo, Monster Crawler, DogPile, WebCrawler and WayBack Machine.

Facebook Search by Name

It’s advisable to use websites that carry personal information when seeking for someone. Some of these popular sites include LinkedIn, Twitter and Facebook. Facebook is the oldest of these sites and it contains the most subscribers.

It is smarter to start with a Google/Facebook combined search before going for the Facebook internal search. For instance, you can type in “Christian Maguire site:facebook.com” and go through the search results. You can also click on the images tab if you want a thorough search. This trick works even better when your search string also includes location.

The second method is to enter Facebook and type the individual’s name into the search box. You can improve the quality of the search results by making a few tweaks. It’s possible to narrow down results by manipulating the filters to match specific times and places.  These filters will expose older posts even if the person hasn’t posted in a long time.

Other Apps, Sites, and Online Records

Use ZabaSearch to Search for Addresses and Phone Numbers

You can look for your old friend by tying in his/her address or phone number using this unique search engine. It comes with an index that has information about unlisted and listed addresses and numbers. You can start by typing in your own name to see the results. You’ll be creepily-impressed by its accuracy.

Use Pipl to Explore the “Deep Web”

Pipl will help you dig deeper than Google. Pipl’s search results are impressive because they contain information from the “invisible web.” The information includes Amazon wishlists, MySpace pages, press mentions and personal web pages. It’s a search engine that provides accurate information about people with “real” online names. You can use country, state, and city information to filter results for common names.

Wink Helps you to Search Numerous Social Websites

It’s easy to get results from many social sites using Wink. It’s easier than looking through each site on an individual basis. Wink will give you comprehensive search results for sites like Xanga, Twitter, MySpace, LinkedIn and Friendster. The results will be provided in one search.

ZoomInfo Will Help you Get Employment Results

This search engine is normally used to provide information about individuals and companies. The information is normally useful in matching people with the best possible jobs. ZoomInfo will provide you with a person’s current job title and employment history. Type in the individual’s full name and search. It’s advisable to use geographical filters to reduce unnecessary results.

Search for the Phone Number

Search engines can be helpful when finding information attached to a certain phone number. This is usually a straight-forward method if an individual’s phone number is advertised or listed online. It works best if you separate the numbers by experimenting with parentheses, periods and hyphens. You can also place the number in quotes. You can pay a fee to find cell phone information through reverse-tracking.

How to Find Someone by Username?

This is how to find someone if you don’t know their last name. The best way to unearth someone’s identity is to start with Google. It’s as simple as looking for the individual’s username to reveal their social media profile.

The username can be complemented with quotation marks to decrease unnecessary search results. This means you should type in “username” into the search bar. The results will be specific to what you’re looking for.

People search engines are also effective if social networks and Google don’t give you the desired results. Sites like Spokeo and BeenVerified have a reputation of providing verified and updated information.

There are other alternatives such as Facebook, Reddit, Snapchat, Instagram, Twitter, etc.

Finding Friends of a Friend

You can use recommendations from various social networks to track down the individuals. These recommendations are usually profiles of people who are connected to the main subject. You can gather clues from the person’s inner circle. It’s therefore possible to find someone without a last name.

This method works very well in Facebook because the site exposes you to mutual friends and it allows you to send a friend request. You can also speak to a person using direct messages.

Conclusion

Search engines and social media platforms have made it easy to find long lost friends even if we don’t have sufficient information. In fact, search engines like WayBack Machine are so powerful that they can recover information that has already been deleted on the internet. You might need some luck and perseverance but you will find your subject if you use the above methods. You can even use professionals to help you locate the person you want.

Celebrate National Robotics Week with Bittle

To celebrate National Robotics Week (April 2-10, 2022), Petoi, the maker of futuristic robotic pets, is offering 15% off its palm-sized, bionic robot dog –  Bittle.

Small but agile, Bittle is a powerful robot that can be programmed to walk, do tricks and roll around just like a real dog. Designed for coding and fun, Bittle operates on OpenCat, an open-source quadrupled robot platform that offers endless programming and customisation possibilities. An ideal tool for teaching, researching and learning about STEM and robotics, Bittle is available now for £254.99 (Bittle Construction Kit) or £263.49 (Bittle Pre-Assembled) from Amazon UK*.

Users bring Bittle to life by assembling its puzzle-like frame which is made up of 3D interlocking components, eliminating the need for screws. The bionic construction of legs rather than wheels means that Bittle is able to move more freely over unstructured terrain. With a simple and beautiful design, Bittle can be configured and controlled using Petoi’s official mobile app.

Evolving with an open-source gene, Bittle is built on Petoi’s OpenCat open-source platform which was first launched in 2018 by Petoi’s founder Dr. Rongzhong Li specifically for quadrupled robots. Bittle’s dynamic maneuverability and behaviours are features typically seen on luxury robots but Petoi’s technology is now making it accessible to more consumers.

With a customised Arduino board coordinating all instinctive and sophisticated movements, users are able to clip various smart sensors onto Bittle or mount a Raspberry Pi or other AI chips through wired/wireless connections to inject perception and artificial intelligence capabilities.

Dr. Rongzhong Li said: “We are excited to bring Bittle to the UK. It’s been a mission of ours to create life-like robot animals that not only make coding fun but also challenge users as they get their pet to move and do tricks. We are really looking forward to seeing what UK users do with the Bittle.”

Features include:

 

  • OpenCat framework
  • Arduino compatible motion controller & wireless connectivity
  • Interlocking plastic frame
  • Shock reduction joints
  • Programmable gaits and behaviours
  • 9 x fast, powerful digital metal servos

Bittle is available from Amazon UK for £254.99 (Bittle Construction Kit) and £263.49 (Bittle Pre-Assembled)) until 12th  April. Usual RRP £299.99 (Bittle Construction Kit) and £309.99 (Bittle Pre-Assembled). Additional accessories are also available, including the Bittle Additional  Battery Pack (£33.99 until 12th April, usual RRP £39.99) and the Bittle Intelligent Camera Module (£50.99 until 12th April, usual RRP £59.99).

For more information, please visit https://www.petoi.com.