Irish mobile players take America by storm


26 Mar 2007

Four Irish mobile technology companies will this week meet senior executives of major US mobile and media companies including AT&T, Palm and EMI Music at a meeting brokered by Enterprise Ireland.

The four companies – Adaptive Mobile, Mobile Aware, Openet and Yougetitback.com – will be exhibiting at the CTIA Wireless 2007 event in Orlando, Florida, the world’s largest wireless conference.

The companies will meet senior managers from US-based companies that include AT&T, Palm, Baker Capital, Dontel Consulting, Dwango, EMI Music, M:Metrics, Pond Ventures, Storm Ventures, Taber Consulting and Telus.

All are members of the US Wireless Advisory Board (WAB) – a panel of experts established by Enterprise Ireland in 2006.

“Through this meeting, Irish companies will receive invaluable insights about how to sell and market to the American market,” said Diane Roberts, manager of Enterprise Ireland in the US.

“The advisory board members will also leverage their expertise and personal contacts to help Irish companies develop strategic partnerships and formulate expansion strategies to further their growth in the US,” explained Roberts.

The US represents a tremendous opportunity for Irish mobile technology firms, said Lorcan Burke, chief executive of mobile security filtering firm Adaptive Mobile. “We have already closed major deals with US companies and recently expanded our executive team to further address the market in 2007.”

An example of one Irish company with an established presence in the US market is Openet, a provider of event processing and transaction management solutions.

“Since we secured our first contract in the US seven years ago, Openet has grown to have more than 60 customers including many of the largest and most pioneering communications service providers in the world,” explained Niall Norton, the company’s chief executive.

“Our office in Reston, Virginia, and contacts in the US have given us credibility worldwide. We are now entering into a new phase of growth, which includes ambitious technology and market expansion plans for the next few years. We’re looking forward to presenting our strategies to the WAB and hearing their feedback,” Norton said.

According to M:Metrics, an authority on mobile market measurement, with more than 98 million subscribers the US market presents a sizeable opportunity for Irish companies in the mobile infrastructure sector.

“Many of the companies supported by Enterprise Ireland are on the cutting edge of mobile technology and offer some of the most innovative solutions available today,” said fellow WAB member and Irish native John Hartnett, senior vice-president of global sales with Palm.

“By helping these companies understand the nuances of the US market, we are enabling the advancement of state-of-the-art wireless technology solutions, which will in turn benefit the wireless industry as a whole,” Hartnett added.

By John Kennedy