IT tweaks could save EUR62,000 a year

Businesses could save tens of thousands of euro by making simple changes to IT systems, consultants have claimed. A study of the IT usage in 10,000 Irish firms by software company Openplain says that switching off machines at night and cutting back on software orders could cut costs by EUR62,000 a year for a company with 100 staff. The firm found that almost two-thirds of workers leave computers on all night, wasting enough energy over a year to power 13 ovens. The study also found that most companies only use 70 percent of the software they purchase. "When companies are attempting to reduce costs, instead of making sweeping cuts, such as staff redundancies, there are simple measures that can save businesses thousands of euro," said Jon Mulligan, managing director of Openplain. "Two of the biggest culprits are in relation to IT - companies need to turn off their computers and stop buying software they don't use." For more on this story see Independent.ie.

Firms neglect IT project management

One-third of organisations rate their project delivery capability as satisfactory or poor, according to a study by Clarion Consulting. What's more, 37 percent of survey respondents admit that up to half of all projects are delivered late. In general, the report highlighted a reduced focus on improving project management capabilities, with Irish firms ranking it last in a list of top 10 IT priorities. On the plus side, the report shows an increase in the number of companies with dedicated project management offices, now at 63 percent, up from 46 percent in 2007. In addition, it looks like Irish firms are reducing their dependency on contract staff to manage projects, with the use of internal project managers rising to 46 percent from 29 percent in 2008. For more on this story visit ENN.ie.

IT investment begins again

Companies are beginning to invest in technology again as the recession eases, according to a UK study by BT Global Services. Organisations are starting to spend on key technologies such as networks and teleconferencing, and on business practices like outsourcing and flexible working. BT said the most "technologically innovative" businesses are in the financial services sector: some 92 percent of companies in this sector said they are investing in at least one of a list of technologies suggested to them. These are network technology, outsourcing, teleconferencing and/or video conferencing, flexible working, sustainable and/or green systems, automated customer contact, cloud computing and/or software-as-a-service systems. Andy Nicholson, managing director of financial services at BT Global Services, said that companies that invest now will be in a better position to capitalise when economic recovery arrives. For more visit V3.co.uk.

Online shoppers turn to social networks

Internet users will be doing plenty of online research about Christmas shopping this year, according to two US studies. Shoppers will be heading to social networks for information and deals: research by the Opinion Research Corporation and Yesmail found that 27 percent of online shoppers who plan to both research and buy Christmas gifts online this year will look for ideas on sites such as Facebook. And 45 percent will use social networks to research items, compare prices and look for offers. In a separate study, Deloitte found that 17 percent of consumers would use social media during their Christmas shopping. Sixty percent of consumers who plan to use social media will be looking for discounts and special offers, Deloitte said, while just over half will research gift ideas and check out friends' and family members' wish lists. For more on this story visit eMarketer.com.

Here are some of the issues our forum members have been discussing in the last fortnight:

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• Content management software view thread

Guarding against the threat from within

E-commerce special (part two): Shoppers without borders

Online marketing case study: Technical Engineering Group

Unfriend

The word 'unfriend' has just been named Word of the Year by the New Oxford American Dictionary. Unfriend is defined as a verb that means 'to remove someone as a friend on a social networking site'. "It has both currency and potential longevity," said Christine Lindberg, senior lexicographer for Oxford's US dictionary programme. The term was chosen from a list of finalists with a tech-savvy bent, including 'hashtag', a way of tagging a topic on Twitter so it can be found by other users, and 'intexticated', when people are distracted by texting while driving.

The Hilton Hotel, Dublin 2, November 25
This free event, presented by Calyx Software, focuses on finance systems and how they can be key to a business's survival. The seminar will provide advice about getting the fundamentals of accounting software right and will guide attendees through the process of software implementation.

FocusBooster is a free application aimed at improving productivity through better time management. It's a very simple tool that is based on a principle called the Pomodoro Technique - a method that breaks work-time down into four 25-minute sessions, each one followed by a 5-minute break. After four sessions (every two hours), you can take a longer break. The theory is that the 25 minutes is to be spent totally focused on the task at hand. FocusBooster is simply software that presents this technique in the form of a digital timer. You can choose to have an alarm ring at the end of each 25-minute session, and the timer changes colour as you near the end of a session. You can download the software to your desktop, or access an online version.