Aerogen

Irish aerosol drug delivery firm rises to global Covid-19 need

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Given the numbers of people globally who need and will need care to recover from Covid-19 infection, one Irish medical device firm says it may double the number of units it ships this year.

Before the current coronavirus crisis, Aerogen already provided hospitals in more than 75 countries with its world-leading aerosol drug delivery products, benefitting 10 million patients.

Aerogen CEO John Power expects the company could ship 3m or 4m units in 2020, however, up from 2m in 2019. It is also investigating how to address the global ventilator shortage by adapting non-invasive ventilation systems.

 

Soaring global demand 

Aerogen can be a standalone unit or built into ventilators. It not only provides an efficient and effective way to deliver drugs to patients, but its closed-circuit system means the ventilation circuit does not need to be broken for drug delivery. This means there is a lower risk of patients transmitting Covid-19 to healthcare professionals.

The company saw an initial spike in requests earlier this year from China, where it had already been working with local ventilator company Mindray before the current crisis. “Then we started seeing an uptick in business coming through them early in 2020,” said Power.

“Then the wave of demand started coming across the world. In the past few weeks, we started seeing big orders come through from Italy, Germany, Spain and the UK, and demand has skyrocketed from the US in the past week. That really shows the recent change in awareness in America,” said Power.

 

Fairly balancing distribution

Power and his team are striving to ensure they can meet the sudden and unprecedented growth in demand. “We are a global company and we are balancing demand from across the world.

“We are asking customers and distributors to check at the hospital level if their demand is realistic and represents what they need now or if their order could be phased over a number of weeks. We are trying to proportion out our systems so we can give them to all our distributors and OEM partners.”

 

Ensuring smooth supply chains

Almost all of Aerogen’s products are manufactured and assembled in Ireland, primarily at M&M Qualtech in Galway and Molex in Shannon who assemble their high volume Solo nebuliser.

Aerogen has been growing sales at a CAGR of 30% per year since 2010 and Power explains that in response to the current outbreak its working together with its key suppliers to now ramp production by 50%+ in an effort to try and meet the unprecedented global demand for Aerogen’s product. Redeploying staff, adding additional shifts and production lines with more capacity to be added over time. Their component suppliers are also being asked to prioritise production to ensure round-the-clock manufacturing can ensue.

 

Further Covid-19 solutions

While patients with less severe respiratory issues can typically be put on non-invasive ventilators, such as face masks or nasal cannulas, doctors are concerned that using these could contaminate the air with coronavirus. Patients end up being intubated, possibly even when it’s not necessary, placing huge strains on intensive care units. Aerogen is working with hospital and academic partners to adapt non-invasive vents and make them safe for Covid-19 treatment.

This would also ensure that people with other respiratory conditions such as severe asthma or COPD could still access the aerosol drug delivery they have come to rely on, he adds.

 

About Aerogen

Aerogen has long been recognised globally as a pioneer in high-performance nebulisation and a world leader in aerosol drug delivery through ICU ventilators. John was named the European Entrepreneur of the Year in 2016 and Aerogen has received the Zenith Award, the highest award granted by the American Association of Respiratory Care, six times between 2013 and 2019.

Not only do Aerogen units ensure efficient drug delivery to patients on ventilators, but also their in-line circuit design means they carry a lower risk of Covid-19 transmission from patients to health care professionals than traditional nebulisers. Furthermore, the medication reservoir is isolated from the breathing circuit, minimising nebulisation of contaminated fluids.

Recent UK government guidelines state that when treating respiratory patients a closed suctioning system must be used, and that ventilator circuits should not be broken unless necessary.

Sonia Neary Wellola

Wellola: Tailored and secure patient portals for healthcare providers

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Responding to the urgent needs generated by the Covid-19 crisis, one Irish firm is providing tailored and secure patient portals to healthcare providers.

Wellola builds practice management software for both enterprise and small business clients. It has just launched a secure patient communication portal for the Health Service Executive (HSE), which provides all of Ireland’s public health services, to enable it to manage its response to Covid-19.

The software firm is also fielding queries from providers in other European countries eager to optimise their response to the crisis.

 

What is the HSE Covid-19 portal?

The HSE Covid-19 portal is a simple digital tool that enables Irish family doctors (known as general practitioners or GPs) and primary care providers to keep people well and treat those who are unwell, in the community if possible. It also aims to protect front-line medical practitioners from unnecessary exposure to coronavirus.

“We developed the portal as GPs in particular wanted to mitigate their risk and see people remotely if possible,” says Sonia Neary, co-founder and CEO of Wellola.

“Furthermore, they were aware that many GPs may need to self-isolate after potential exposure to Covid-19, placing an already-pressurised system under additional strain.

“With the portal, those GPs confined at home can connect to it, access all patient  information securely and continue to care for patients. The portal offers video consultations, but also includes other functionality that facilitates secure patient care,” she adds.

 

What are its key features?

Irish GPs and primary care providers can set up an account in the portal to offer their patients services such as:

  • Online booking
  • Video consultation software (in app, text or email)
  • Secure messaging
  • Form completion to help with triaging
  • Sharing information and resources
  • Payment functionalities (e-Invoicing, payment in video-screen etc)
  • e-Prescriptions (coming soon)

While healthcare providers typically access the portal on desktop computers, patients access it through a mobile app. Once their doctor gives them access, they can download and log in to the app to manage all communication and share clinical information.

 

Helping stop the spread of contagion

“We are thankful and pleased to partner with Sonia Neary and Wellola in providing Irish GPs with a video consultation solution,” said Dr Martin Curley, who leads the HSE Digital Transformation team, which focuses on using disruptive technology to drive substantial improvements in the efficiency and effectiveness of the Irish health service and the patient experience.

“This will be a key tool in providing remote care to patients in Ireland and a critical tool in helping avoid further contagion of Covid-19. We encourage GPs and other healthcare providers to access and use this service, which is provided at cost.”

 

Benefits to healthcare providers

For providers such as the HSE, a Wellola-built portal is a fast and cost-effective solution to the critical challenge of responding to potential and actual Covid-19 patients.

“It’s designed to be affordable,” says Neary. “If you were to go to a software provider and say ‘Build me a portal’, they would ask you to come back in six months and it would cost you a couple of thousand euro. With Wellola, clients can launch portals with relative speed and affordability.”

The portal also enables the provider to manage their Covid-19 response in a rapid, thorough and secure way. By using it, they can:

  • Mitigate risk: The tool allows a GP practice to triage patients without needing them to attend the practice in person or go to hospital. Patients can fill forms and make bookings through the app, and have video consultations with medical staff.
  • Provide remote care: The portal enables doctors to care for patients who are self-isolating, by using secure messaging and video, and sharing resources such as laboratory results and information leaflets.
  • Maintain clinical workforce capacity: As all portal data is hosted centrally in the cloud, if clinicians such as GPs or consultants need to self-isolate, they can still contribute to remote care for patients if they are well enough to do so.
  • Share information: With Wellola’s connected database and centralised cloud-based system, all those involved in patient care (including community-based providers, primary care staff, GPs, hospitals and so on) can access, track and share patient information relating to Covid-19 victims this single, central cloud-based system.

 

Built on healthcare expertise

Set up in 2017, Wellola initially built portals for physiotherapists. Neary was a practising  physiotherapist and identified the need for secure software to help her peers do their work.

“I’m a big believer in hospital-at-home care models,” she says, “but found when I was providing home care, that I had no easy way to take a booking, keep notes or take a payment and, while out, I could miss an enquiry.”

 

Working across the sector

Since then, the company has evolved to providing portals in Ireland and other countries for other networks of healthcare professionals, such as occupational therapists, speech and language therapists and mental healthcare providers, along with large entities such as hospitals.

“Our model is an enterprise model. For a large entity, such as a hospital or a wide network of healthcare professionals, we give them a standalone version of Wellola, with their own branding, database, server and so on.” says Deasy.

“We’re really passionate about providing healthcare providers with the tools to deliver professional healthcare anywhere,” she says.

“Online consultation systems in both the public and private sector help in maximising available resources, retaining or re-engaging talented staff, facilitate triaging of waiting lists and increasing reach to remote, underserviced areas.”

 

A collaborative approach

Based at the Guinness Enterprise Centre in Dublin, Wellola has collaborated with other Irish-based entities — Stripe, DNM Group and AWS Ireland — to enhance the functionality, security and local hosting of its system.

Recently awarded the Integrated Care Award by the Irish Medical & Surgical Trade Association, Wellola has been backed and funded by the European Institute of Technology and Innovation and by Enterprise Ireland.

Novaerus provides the power of plasma

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The outbreak of a new coronavirus has confirmed a fact long understood by Irish company Novaerus: we are what we breathe.

The company manufactures and sells patented medical-grade, clean air solutions. Thanks to new partnerships with established distributors across China, its portable air disinfection units are being made available to healthcare facilities in Hubei, Beijing, Shanghai, Zhejiang, Guangzhou City and the Chinese special administrative regions of Hong Kong and Macau.

It comes at a time of growing concern surrounding the recent infectious outbreak caused by a novel coronavirus first identified in Wuhan, Hubei Province, China. Indeed, the Chinese Ambassador to Ireland, Mr He Xiangdong, recently visited Novaerus, who have donated several air dis-infection devices to two hospitals in Wuhan, the Chinese city at the centre of the COVID-19 outbreak; Wuhan Xincheng Hospital and Wuhan Third People’s Hospital.

Among the donation of goods is a Defend 1050 for each facility, the company’s latest innovation in infection control. The Defend 1050 is a mobile solution designed for rapid remediation in large spaces and situations with a high risk of infection.

 

Coranavirus – Covid-19

Coronaviruses (CoV) are a large family of viruses that cause illness ranging from the common cold to more severe diseases such as Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) and Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS).

The current outbreak is a new strain that has not previously been identified in humans. It’s not yet clear how easily it spreads from person-to-person. However both MERS and SARS are thought to have spread via respiratory droplets produced when an infected person coughs or sneezes, similar to how influenza and other respiratory pathogens spread.

 

Dealing with virus transmission

“The most difficult disease transmission-route to guard against is airborne because we have very little to protect us when we breathe,” says Dr Kevin Devlin, CEO at WellAir, the parent company of Novaerus. Currently very many people in affected regions – and further afield – have responded by wearing surgical masks.
Yet while masks may help guard against the kind of particulates seen in air pollution, they are ineffective against the much smaller size of viruses.

Cleaning the air is a fundamental component of managing infectious outbreaks. However standalone filtration systems are typically unable to trap tiny viral particles too.

Novaerus’ portable air disinfection and purification units are unique in using a patented plasma technology that kills airborne viruses. Its devices suck air from a room and pass it through patented plasma coils to eradicate viruses.
So destructive is Novaerus’ technology that he likens it to passing bacteria through “a field of lightning – particles get destructed as they pass through.”

The company makes a range of devices, the biggest of which can take in 900 cubic metres of air per hour and is used in large spaces. The smallest takes in 80 cubic metres of air in an hour. All run 24 hours a day, using very low power, and reduce the risk to people coming into and out of that room dramatically.

Its units can be used to remediate rooms post-infection rapidly, which is why its primary market is medical facilities. These range from doctor surgeries and waiting rooms to hospital operating theatres and wards. “Anywhere there is a need to reduce the risk of cross-infection,” he says.

The efficacy of Novaerus products have been independently tested and verified across a range of pathogens including measles, influenza and C-diff, as well as fungal spores in buildings.

In fact the biggest challenge it faces are lower quality plasma products currently in the market, he says. These operate in a totally different way, typically by sending out ions into a room which are charged to attract pathogens before having them fall to the ground or onto surfaces where they can be disinfected.
Novaerus’s patented technology is entirely unique in killing them, at speed.

As word of its effectiveness has spread, it has witnessed enormous interest across Asia Pacific, including countries such as South Korea, Vietnam and China, where it is currently opening its first office, in Shanghai.

“Our products are aimed at anywhere there are people but we have always found it easier to get our message across in Asia, where people are already very conscious of the risk from pollutants in the external air,” says Dr Devlin.

“There are already a lot of solutions in this market, including ones which use HEPA (high-efficiency particulate air) type filters or masks, but these are effective only for particulates. Again, viruses are much smaller and can pass through them,” he says.

Novaerus machines are effective against hospital ‘super bugs’ and are an inexpensive solution for hospital systems, “particularly given the cost of post-operative infections, such as where a hip replacement has to be done again”, he points out.

Today Novaerus sells into medical facilities in 40 countries, including its main market, South Korea. In October 2019 it signed a partnership in that country which will see its products sell into the high end consumer market too. It’s a first for the company but a move likely to be replicated elsewhere.

“South Koreans are very aware of exterior air quality,” says Dr Devlin. “We launched in that country prior to the current coronavirus outbreak and know that products that are successful in South Korea transfer well around other countries in Asia Pacific.” Already it has seen significant growth in demand throughout the region. “It helps that everything we say about our product is the result of independent tests. It’s not something we are pulling out of the air.”

Aerogen

Ireland races to produce ventilators, nebulisers and more

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As the global battle against Covid-19 intensifies, Irish medtech and life sciences firms are ramping up production to meet soaring demand for nebulisers, ventilators and other badly-needed treatment and protection equipment.

Doubling production of critical devices

Half of the existing ventilators in acute hospitals around the world were made in Ireland, which is ranked as one of the top five global medtech hubs.

Medtronic, the world’s largest standalone medical device maker, produces ventilators in a large manufacturing plant in Galway, in the west of Ireland. It is doubling its capacity by more than doubling its workforce of 250 and moving to round-the-clock production.

Another firm increasing production to meet high global demand related to coronavirus treatment is Enterprise Ireland-backed client Aerogen. It’s the world’s leading supplier of aerosol drug delivery products through ventilators to patients in critical and intensive care.

Before the current crisis, Aerogen already provided hospitals in more than 75 countries with its products, benefitting 10 million patients.

Aerogen CEO John Power expects the company could ship 3m or 4m units in 2020, up from 2m in 2019. It is also investigating how to address the global ventilator shortage by adapting non-invasive ventilation systems and are striving to ensure they can meet the sudden and unprecedented growth in demand.

“We are a global company and we are balancing demand from across the world.” says Power

Demand up by as much as 300%

Galway-based M&M Qualtech manufactures products for the medtech, aviation, ICT and other sectors. It produces ventilators, nebulisers and medical monitoring equipment for its medtech customers, including Aerogen and Medtronic. It says it’s seeing capacity demand three to five times higher than the usual pre-crisis level.

M&M Qualtech began to see this spike in manufacturing demand in early March and already expects to produce 4m nebulisers this year, up from 2m last year. It also anticipates a similar rate of increase in production of nebuliser controllers (likely to produce 45,000, up from 35,000) and ventilator AC modules (expecting to make 18,000, up from 5,000 in 2019).

It’s increasing capacity by focusing factory production on the most critically needed medical products, hiring up to 25% more Production Operators, engaging with suppliers daily to expedite materials into production, and redesigning its factory to meet social distancing requirements.  

Ripple effect of Covid-19 crisis 

Also based in the west of Ireland, Vitalograph is the world leader in the analysis of cough drug trials. It specialises in cardiorespiratory and related devices that measure lung and cardiac function, diagnose lung disorders and also produces associated products and software.

Vitalograph is working to meet increased demand for spirometers and consumables such as bacterial-viral filters and test kits and seeing a significant increase in orders of remote monitors. Over the past 15 years, Vitalograph remote monitoring has mainly been used in clinical trials but is now rapidly being adopted by mainstream healthcare.

According CEO, Frank Keane, “Remote monitoring enables the most vulnerable patients with conditions such as COPD, cystic fibrosis and IPF to remain in their homes and not travel to hospitals or clinics and risk picking up infections,”

“As the patients we serve will be the most vulnerable to a respiratory disease of this nature, we are doubling our efforts to ensure we can fulfil our mission and serve them at this time.” said Keane,

Vitalograph has also recruited more staff, and increased both capacity and orders from sub-suppliers, and activated their comprehensive business continuity plan.

Deirdre Glenn, Head of Lifesciences with Enterprise Ireland, said “In the face of the Covid-19 pandemic, Irish medtech companies are rising to the challenge of meeting the increased global demand for essential equipment needed for the treatment and prevention of Covid-19. As the second largest exporter of medtech products in Europe, and with the highest number of people per capital employed in medtech in Europe, Ireland is primed to play its role in the global fight against Covid-19”

Market Watch – View from Asia Pacific

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Mary Kinnane, Enterprise Ireland Asia Pac directorAs Covid-19 impacts markets globally, our Market Watch will provide timely insights to clients. Mary Kinnane, Regional Director, Asia Pac, Enterprise Ireland discusses the view from the APAC region.

 

1.What are you seeing on the ground in the APAC Region in terms of the impact of Covid-19?

With Covid-19 being present in the Asia Pac region for some months with serious human health implications, the collateral damage to business and economic sentiment has been apparent since early Q1.  This past fortnight has seen the global implications of the virus really impact economically with business indicators and sentiment on the ground turning very negative.  There has been a near collapse in regional and international travel as governments across Asia Pac try to control the spread of the virus.  The situation varies to some extent across the region, and also across sectors, but the overall impact in the region is profound.

 

2. What’s your advice to Irish exporters in terms of engaging with customers and suppliers?

Stay focused on what you can influence and control, both in respect of existing sales delivery in the near term, and on planning for the recovery when it does come. Proactive and regular communication with suppliers is to be advised to instill and ensure mutual confidence.

 

3. What Covid-19 business supports are being put into place across the APAC Region to support business continuity?

The increase in remote working and split teams in mission critical areas within organisations has unfolded at an unprecedented pace in APAC.  Company policies have and are evolving rapidly with respect to such supports.  On a macro basis government and central bank stimuli are being deployed at scale in an attempt to contain the potential longer term economic impact of the crisis.

 

4. What advice would you have for Irish businesses exporting to APAC during this time?

If already exporting to the region the advice would be predicated on the simple premise that it is much easier to retain a customer than to win a new customer in the region.  Within whatever constraints you are operating under, communicate proactively and try to support business continuity.  As with historical crises in the region customer loyalty will more often than not be rewarded in the longer term.

For potential new entrants to the region whilst travel is not possible in the short term, if resources allow, it is a good time to research and prospect new opportunities remotely.  We are finding that some APAC companies have time and are more amenable to digital contact than heretofore.  As always with the APAC region, Irish companies must be realistic on the runway required to winning new business.

 

5. How is the Enterprise Ireland office network across the APAC Region supporting Irish companies during this period?

The Enterprise Ireland network of offices from Beijing to Sydney is fully operational with teams working remotely to ensure continuity of service to both existing clients and to support the pipeline of new entrants to the region.

Our focus is twofold;  firstly, supporting the immediate challenges of clients with respect to customer delivery and supply chain management and secondly, continuing to support new business prospecting in the region in preparation for the uptick which will come in time. There is every reason to believe that the high growth APAC region will continue to offer serious rewards to client companies once the current crisis abates.

Enterprise Ireland’s top tips for entering the Chinese market

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The ambitions of both the Chinese government and the private sector to improve competitiveness is driving demand for foreign technology and expertise, which in turn is increasing opportunities for Irish firms in the region.

If you are considering doing business in China, please be sure to explore our tips to enter the market below and also be sure to reach out to our dedicated team. 

  • Make a strategy to protect your intellectual property before you enter the Chinese market.
  • Treating China as one large market is difficult, narrow down your target cities
  • Second- and third-tier cities might be a better option for many products since there may be fewer competitors, more demand from consumers and local governments willing to facilitate market access.
  • Best practices show that investing some time in China to meet people, experience the market, and test prices and consumer behaviour is critical before making the decision to invest.
  • Having a physical presence in China can be part of a long-term strategy to enter the country.
  • Firms should carefully weigh all the available options against their business needs before deciding on a legal structure in China.
  • In China, there are certification, registration and labelling schemes that are often complex.
  • Labour costs in China are rising quickly. High turnover is also becoming a concern.
  • Finding the right importer/distributor in China is critical for success. Guanxi (people to people relationship) is important as reliable contact can help you understand the negotiating habits of the Chinese that would otherwise require months of on-the-ground presence in China to understand.
  • Companies need 6-9 months of preparatory work to enter China, which is longer than other markets;
  • In Greater China, Enterprise Ireland have three offices in Shanghai, Beijing and Hong Kong, servicing key sectors for Irish companies.

If you are considering doing business in China be sure to reach out to our team and read our Going Global Guide for more information.

 

If you would like to know what to prepare ahead of your first MA call, click the graphic below

How Payslip filled a gap in the multinational payroll market

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“Enterprise Ireland provided great support through its fintech network. They enabled us to leverage international channels and acquire clients.”


Payslip Founder & CEO Fidelma McGuirk

Overview:

  • Founded in 2015, Payslip empowers multinational companies to standardise global payroll processes and manage international data, resources and vendors on a single platform.
  • Began its seed funding process and applied for High Potential Start-Up support in February 2018.
  • Since then, Payslip has acquired 23 clients across Europe and the US, including LogMeIn, GetYourGuide and Airbus, and the company has plans to increase sales by 400% in 2020.

 

Case Study: Payslip

As CEO and Director of Operations for an international tax company, Fidelma McGuirk was in charge of company growth and management across 21 countries. At the time, her company was using a variety of payroll service vendors. Frustratingly, she found no existing technology that could automate, integrate, and streamline their global payroll operations. So, she decided to create a platform to deliver this.

Payslip provides automation and integration technology to multi-national employers to standardise their global payroll management. Payslip technology integrates with human capital management and accounting/ERP systems, automating payroll processes and standardising global payroll data and reporting. With Payslip, multinational clients can centrally manage their global payroll operations with visibility, control and governance as they expand operations across borders.

Pre-launch, McGuirk and her team conducted robust market testing. They spoke to over 470 multinational employers, payroll providers, and international payroll associations, including the Global Payroll Management Institute in the US and the Global Payroll Association in the UK. McGuirk’s instincts were correct: there was a strong need for a new global payroll model with a focus on automation and standardisation.

In February 2018, Payslip began its seed funding process and applied for HPSU support. The start-up found solid support in its Enterprise Ireland Development Advisor (DA), who helped to guide Payslip through the application process. Once HPSU status was gained, the goal was to seek a strong investor partnership that would help grow the business and open international channels to multinational companies.

“HPSU offered us established, structured support,” says McGuirk. “As an organisation, they have international market experience—they’ve been through this journey before. They were able to arrange the specific introductions needed in foreign markets.”

Over the past two years, Payslip has acquired 23 clients headquartered across Ireland, Germany, The Netherlands, Denmark, and the US. Clients like Airbus, Teamwork, AMCS Group, Argon Medical Devices, LogMeIn, Phorest and others use the Payslip platform to manage and control global payroll for employees in over 60 countries. Sales increased 500% after the first year and McGuirk says the company has plans to increase by another 400% in 2020.

 

Educating the marketplace on the need for payroll innovation

Initially, the greatest challenge was helping potential investors and clients to understand how Payslip technology could disrupt and transform the market.

“What we were doing was different than what was done before, Payslip is a technology solution for global payroll, not a service for payroll calculations,” McGuirk says. “We had to educate the market and help people understand that we don’t compete with payroll service providers—we collaborate with them.”

Payslip brought something entirely new to the table: a technology solution to automate and standardise the global payroll process in a way that delivers central governance, while accommodating local country payroll nuances . Previously, the established industry players were traditional global payroll service offerings like ADP, Ceridian, and CloudPay. These service firms focus on delivering in-country payroll calculation and compliance expertise. According to McGuirk, there is no other platform that provides a single, end-to-end global payroll management solution like Payslip.

Payslip began acquiring early-adopter clients and interest was high among high-growth, technology-based companies. McGuirk says the first client was naturally the hardest to land. After that, things took off quickly. Thanks to the growing number of multinational companies who are going digital to achieve central governance, Payslip is now the leader in the new Gartner industry category of digital payroll services.

 

More markets, more clients

Payslip closed its Series A fundraising in February 2020 and, so far, all its initial investors have followed their investment in Payslip. McGuirk says that being a HPSU company will help it achieve its goal of continued international growth pointing out that Enterprise Ireland has resources in the right foreign markets. Their international teams have a good understanding of what is happening locally, which is crucial for market penetration.

“We intend to extend our reach into more markets and acquire more clients,” McGuirk says. “Our single focus is to continue growing our client base internationally from our headquarters in Westport, Co. Mayo. Enterprise Ireland is very supportive of this objective.”

Part of Payslip’s growth plan includes the expansion of its sales and engineering teams here in Ireland to support those global aspirations. Working together with Enterprise Ireland and the HPSU team, McGuirk is confident that her company can optimise its commercial capabilities to capitalise on growth opportunities and gain market share.

Click here to learn more about becoming a HPSU or contact our Start-Up Enquiries Team to find out more.

team discussing market research plan

Access premium business intelligence reports with the Market Research Centre

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The main ways client companies can utilise the Enterprise Ireland Market Research Centre

 

If you are interested in entering a new market or diversifying into a new sector, Enterprise Ireland’s Market Research Centre can help. Read how you can best use this Enterprise Ireland support.

Conducting market research can help to reduce business risks and assist your company to map out its journey to growing exports. To support client companies, Enterprise Ireland has invested in access to premium business intelligence databases in Market Research Centres in Dublin and eight regional hubs.

But how can you best access the Market Research Centre? Follow these five steps to make the most of your time there.

 

  1. Create your research objective

First, consider what the information you need will be used for and in what type of resource it is likely to be found. Resources provided by the Market Research Centre include:

  • Market reports
  • Country reports
  • Industry and sector reports
  • Company listings for lead generation
  • Trend forecasts
  • Journal articles

All of this information and research is provided by respected publishers and can only be accessed by clients within the Market Research Centre. The Centre’s information specialists work with a range of providers to ensure your company has access to the most up-to-date knowledge available. Once your research objectives are clear, then you are ready to take the next step.

 

  1. Explore the databases online

Get a sense of the databases you would most like to access at the Market Research Centre online before you make an appointment. You can even search for specific report titles here. By preparing in advance, and checking in with the Market Research Centre before your visit, you can ensure that relevant material is available when you need it and that your time is spent efficiently.

 

  1. Book an appointment

Contact the Market Research Centre to discuss your research request and to arrange a visit to the main centre in Dublin or to any of the eight regional office hubs. Currently there are facilities in the following Enterprise Ireland regional offices: Athlone, Cork, Dundalk, Galway, Shannon, Sligo, Tralee and Waterford.

To book your appointment, contact:

Phone: (01) 727 2324

Email: market.research@enterprise-ireland.com

Opening Hours: Monday-Friday, 9am-5pm.

 

  1. Stay up-to-date and social

The Market Research Centre blog is the best place to find the latest information about resources. This includes the most recent reports available to Enterprise Ireland clients, arranged into categories that are easy to search. From country-specific reports to individual sector research and Brexit-focused news, visiting the blog regularly will give you a sense of the breadth and depth of research and information available to consult during your visit.

You can also follow the Market Research Centre on Twitter to stay up-to-date with its latest news.

 

 

  1. Get guidance from information specialists

One big advantage of using the Market Research Centre is that you’re no longer alone. The Centre’s knowledgeable information specialists are readily available to guide you towards the most relevant reports and databases for your needs. The Market Research Centre’s information specialists can also help you to determine which reports are most relevant to your needs, or assist you with developing a plan of action on which sector or country you should start researching.

Conducting the right market research is vital for businesses to maintain their competitive edge and enjoy successful export growth. With Brexit a reminder of the importance of diversifying and discovering exciting new export opportunities, get the right support from Enterprise Ireland’s Market Research Centre.

Evercam drone install

How Agile Innovation enabled Evercam to capitalise on the AI revolution

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“Construction is high value so when things go wrong, it’s expensive. We’ve become that single source of truth.”

Marco Herbst, CEO, Evercams

Overview:

  • Enterprise Ireland’s RD&I funding enabled Evercam to apply AI and machine-learning algorithms to its time-lapse videos.
  • Cameras extract useful, actionable data for project managers, contractors and engineers and generate valuable reports about activity and progress.
  • Partnerships with installation companies are key to Evercam’s growth in international markets.

Construction cranes are redrawing the Dublin skyline and building rates are back at boom-time levels, transforming the city into a world-leading centre of finance and technology  — and Evercam, which supplies time-lapse and project management cameras to the construction industry, is capturing the progress as it happens.

“We’re putting cameras on construction sites for marketing purposes, for project management and for dispute avoidance,” shares Evercam CEO Marco Herbst, who co-founded the company with Vinnie Quinn in 2010.

“We wanted to use cameras for more than just security and we always felt that images and pictures could be used for a much more productive, proactive, communicative purpose to try and improve how people do their jobs,” Marco explains, adding, “We spent quite a while trying out different business models and industries until we found construction about four years ago.”

Evercam’s products are now used by a number of high-profile construction companies including BAM, SISK, Bennett and Stewart on projects for the likes of Google, Facebook, ESB and Central Bank, to name a few.

“Construction is high value so when things go wrong, it’s expensive,” Marco says. “And construction sites are complicated environments with lots of moving parts and a lot of issues around trust, what happened when and who did what. Pictures, images and video are just beautiful ways of capturing all that so that everybody is on the same page.”

 

Harnessing the power of AI

Evercam cameraTime-lapse is an incredible way to visually display progress but Marco and his team saw potential in video analytics, a technology that applies artificial intelligence and  machine-learning algorithms to video feeds — thereby allowing cameras to instantly recognise people, objects and situations.

“Customers were already using our videos to check how many trucks arrived at the construction site, how long the crane was on-site, how many people were on-site at any given moment, but we weren’t using video analytics,” Marco says. “We had the data, we had real customer problems to solve but we needed data scientists and hardware and for a company at our stage of growth, it could be risky to suddenly shift a load of our resources into an R&D project.”

That’s why Evercam decided to apply to Enterprise Ireland’s Agile Innovation Fund for support, which offers up to 50% funding to a maximum of €150,000 in grant aid for innovation projects with a total cost of up to €300,000.

“With Enterprise Ireland’s support, we were able to buy GPUs (graphics processing units), hire developers and researchers, spend time in iterative dialogue with customers and spend time designing the product,” Marco explains.

“The Agile fund is a very holistic, wholesome support and Enterprise Ireland is happy to support all of those different moving parts, not just financially but also with advice, letting us know where to spend our energy.”

Evercam now combines the latest developments in machine learning and AI to construction site videos to extract useful, actionable data for project managers, contractors and engineers and generate valuable reports about activity and progress.

“We’ve become that single source of truth,” Marco states.

 

Next steps in Evercam’s growth strategy

Evercam’s customer base today is predominantly in Ireland and the UK, the latter of which relies on channel partners such as CCTV installers.

“From the customer’s point of view, the end-user, they get the time-lapse video which they need and want from their existing CCTV supplier which is great because they don’t need to have an extra person on-site — they can buy it from somebody they’re already working with,” Marco explains, adding, “That’s been key to us growing in the UK, particularly in London, and now we’re actively setting that up everywhere else.”

And the company’s products continue to evolve. One of the most popular features is Snapmail, which captures key stages in a project and emails them to those who need it. Another is a tool that compares before and after images from any point in time.

Evercam plans to open an office in New Zealand as well as grow its presence in markets such as Singapore and the US where it’s already started selling its cameras.

“Enterprise Ireland has been amazing at making introductions in new markets, from New York to Paris to Amsterdam, steering us towards the types of people we want to hire or the kinds of companies we want to talk to,” Marco says.

Learn how the Agile Innovation Fund can support your R&D ambitions.

 

Barry Napier, CEO Cubic Telecom

CASE: How automotive disruption offers huge opportunities for Irish tech companies

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The automotive industry is at a crossroads. In an era where digital technology is disrupting the status quo throughout the global economy, few industries are being so profoundly impacted as automotive.

Under pressure over emissions and sustainability, manufacturers are focused on transitioning from the internal combustion engine to a future of connected, autonomous, shared and electric vehicles,(CASE). Traditional supply chains are changing dramatically, as new technology providers force manufacturers to rethink where value can be created and by whom.

To assess the level of opportunity this offers Irish business, Enterprise Ireland asked a panel of experts what lies on the road head.

 

From hardware to software

Barry Napier, CEO of Irish company Cubic Telecom – who provides global mobile connectivity solutions for automotive manufacturers including Audi, Skoda and VW – believes the future will be driven by software rather than hardware.

“The mindset has changed,” he says. “Historically when you went to an OEM (original equipment manufacturer) and you said to them, we want to do something, there was panic in their faces because they had to go and change the hardware, and then there were multiple partners they had to talk to in order to do that.

“It’s easier to change software, so now they are looking to do as much as they can via software solutions, putting mainframe concepts into vehicles and then seeing how they can run that through the cloud. The mindset is there with the OEMs to make the car lighter, faster and doing it all via software.”says Napier.

Hiren Desai, Head of Strategy and Innovation North America for Continental, agrees that tier one suppliers will need to be able to create value by manufacturing intelligence rather than just parts.

Hiren says: “The supply chain is going to undergo disruption over the next 10 to 15 years significantly when it comes to software coming in and replacing all the hardware that companies are used to producing.

“Companies like Continental are experts in industrialisation, which essentially means manufacturing. Now, what we’re really talking about is having software factories able to produce intelligence, able to write code, able to produce artificial intelligence, that’s where it is heading.”

 

Automotive industry rethinks the car

Whether it is in vehicles that transport people, goods or freight, OEMs will be looking for partners who can help them meet this demand. Traditional players will have to adapt and make room for new entrants from non-automotive backgrounds.

For Dr Engelbert Wimmer, CEO and founder of German specialist automotive management consultancy and investment company E&Co (Entrepreneurs and Consultants), this level of disruption can be seized upon by Irish companies.

“We are reconsidering every bit and piece of the traditional car,” he says. “That means changing materials and a whole new supply chain because the concept and characteristics of a vehicle that you want to operate 90,000km a year on a shared mobility or on an autonomous platform will be completely different because the durability and ownership will be changing.

“This means we will need to change the materials that vehicles are made from – from the rubber in the tyres to the steel and the chassis. We need to do a lot on recycling and greening the car by what components we will need. For companies who have interesting materials, who operate in material science and can supply components that are recyclable, this is a massive opportunity.

“You’re not just talking about tech companies, you’re looking at companies such as plastic moulders, or in the textile sector. It could be somebody from surface technology. It could be somebody in glass technology. Glass is a super interesting surface with a lot of functions, such as integrated light and displays. All these technologies are being reborn at the moment.

“You’re looking at an awful lot of companies that couldn’t previously have looked at the automotive sector. Every time you have a disruption in that size and with this technology scope, new entrants will have a super chance.” says Napier.

 

Hub for CASE development

Many Irish companies enjoying success in the automotive sector are part of the Connected and Autonomous Vehicle (CAV) cluster, which is supported by Enterprise Ireland, IDA Ireland, Science Foundation Ireland, Department of Transport, and the Lero research centre.

With Jaguar Land Rover’s Centre for Networked and Autonomous Vehicles at Shannon and French vehicle technology giant Valeo’s facility in Tuam as members, CAV Ireland is fast establishing the West of Ireland as a hub for CASE vehicle development.

CAV companies collaborate to identify products and services which can capitalise on export opportunities in the automotive supply chain. It is an approach which Engelbert believes fits well with the future of mobility.

He says: “Whether it is software or materials, it is not about one company producing all this. It is about collaboration and partnership. The tool chain has many, many links that need to be linked together.”

Alpha Wireless, CEO Fergal Lawlor

Loose Wires: Laois-based Alpha Wireless takes on the global market

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“It’s our ability to innovate that sets us apart,” explains Lawlor. “If the right antenna does not exist, we are committed to creating it.”

Fergal Lawlor, CEO Alpha Wireless

Overview:

Alpha Wireless is a market-leading specialist in high performing, superior quality antenna solutions covering macro to small cell antennas.

The company exports to 22 countries worldwide and has opened its first research and development office in Australia.

Enterprise Ireland supports include research and development projects, trade shows, market development programmes, and access to overseas networks.

By the time Fergal Lawlor discovered that the company he worked for was closing, he was already too invested to stop: “By then I had been a designer for two very innovative antenna companies that were disruptive in the market and were coming out with new products and challenging the incumbents that were there,” he says. “I had seen how that worked and I very much liked being part of that.”

Lawlor had spent several years designing wireless solutions with Argus Technologies in Australia, before returning to Ireland to work for an independent company, Sigma Wireless: “We were working on a number of innovative designs in the 3G space at the time,” he explains, “We had good products and we understood what the customer was doing.”

In 2005, US company PCTEL bought the Finglas-based business. “In 2007, they closed their Irish operations.”

 

Unfinished business

For Lawlor, there was too much good work being left behind in Ireland: “I didn’t feel we were finished, so to speak. I knew the antenna designs, I knew a lot of the customers we were talking to, and I knew there was a skilled workforce in Ireland.”

Lawlor approached Enterprise Ireland, who helped him to conduct a feasibility study into the potential for continuing some of this work.

“We looked at the various market segments that I had been working in previously,” he says. “Because we were a newer company, we had to come in with something that wasn’t already there…”

We came up with the conclusion that, yeah, there is a potential market there in this new emerging WiMAX for 4G. We went ahead and set up Alpha Wireless in 2007.”

 

Global ambition from the middle of Ireland

Lawlor describes the gruelling process of expanding from a small office to a global business: “From day one we aimed at becoming a global player. Enterprise Ireland helped us through multiple rounds of funding, market development programmes, research and development projects, and trade shows. They also really helped us with contacts. This market is changing all the time. By focusing on new solutions, we have been able to break into overseas markets from our headquarters in Ballybrittas, Co. Laois – smack bang in the middle of Ireland.”

Lawlor’s previous designs had been tailored primarily for tier-one operators like Vodafone, and o2. “As a new company starting up, there was no chance we were going to be able to sell back into those tier one customers,” he explains, “so we picked a different market segment – WiMAX for 4G – where there wasn’t this existing relationship with vendors going back over the years. We were able to bring our expertise working with these tier ones to this market. It allowed us to go in and become the preferred antenna company for many radio vendors in this emerging market.”

 Alpha Wireless had soon won their first contract from Israeli company, Airspan Networks.

“A meeting with Airspan in Israel brought an opportunity to participate in a trial in Romania – giving just 12 hours’ notice. Martin Barrett quickly responded by booking a flight to Romania and hand-carried the AW3023 antenna for the forthcoming trial. All testing went very well, and the trial resulted in Alpha Wireless winning a contract for 1,500 antennas.” This is testament to Alpha Wireless’ agility and responsiveness providing fast and efficient solutions for their customers.

As the company grew, he brought in some of the designers and engineers who had worked together at Sigma: “We started our business by taking the good learnings to build something new,” he says. “The way we broke in was by finding new markets and knowing what kind of customers we wanted: we wanted customers who needed solutions that weren’t available off the shelf; where we could go in and work really closely with them to create a solution.”

 

How Alpha Wireless has built its foundations

As a young company, Alpha Wireless was one of Enterprise Ireland’s 15 new companies at their exhibition stand at the Pavilion in Dublin. “Sometimes it’s hard to quantify what you get out of these fairs, but you have to keep going to them. It helps to raise awareness and to scale up. We exhibited at a show in Chicago,” adds Lawlor, “which Enterprise Ireland also funds, and that’s how we got Samsung back in 2010”

Now, the company is at a level where they have their own booth at these fairs: “Today, the Mobile World Congress Barcelona is our most important show.”

 

Support on the ground

“As you start getting access to bigger customers, you need local support,” says Lawlor, “and Enterprise Ireland helped us to understand local markets and set up offices in the US. They were able to connect us with operators and make the right introductions. Because of them, we have been able to do things that you normally have to wait much longer for.”

Only 12 years’ from its inception, Alpha Wireless has now become a market-leading specialist in high performing, superior quality antenna solutions covering macro to small cell antennas. The brand now exports to 22 countries worldwide and last year it opened its first research and development office in Australia.

“It’s our ability to innovate that sets us apart,” explains Lawlor. “If the right antenna does not exist, we are committed to creating it.”

To find out more visit alphawireless.com.

Minister Breen & Brian O'Driscoll

Brian O’Driscoll talks business lessons from the rugby pitch

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With Irish ambition focused on the Rugby World Cup in Japan, we look back at insights legend Brian O’Driscoll shared on the need to seek out new markets at Enterprise Ireland’s Ambition Asia Pacific event earlier this year.

Holding the Rugby World Cup in Japan marked a decisive change for international rugby but one which holds lessons for Irish businesses, according to rugby legend Brian O’Driscoll.

The former Ireland and Leinster captain was speaking at Ambition Asia Pacific, a major conference organised by Enterprise Ireland.  Drawing parallels between the world of sport and the world of business, he provided insights into how success on the playing field can be translated to business.

 

Be brave and discover new markets

Among these was the need to be brave and seek out new markets. “The Rugby World Cup in Japan is a new departure and it’s really important. World rugby has obviously realised there’s no point going back to the same markets that are synonymous with rugby, where we’ve had a host of World Cups already. If you want to grow the game, you’ve got to grow into new markets,” he said.

Given that the monies raised during a World Cup are used to fund the game over the following four years, it’s vital that the tournament goes where the revenues are, and “Japan is an untapped market,” he said.

 

Team performance matters most

O’Driscoll spoke about his memories of taking up the captaincy of the national team at the age of 23 and being daunted by his relative youth. He realised he needed help.

“There are very few successful teams that are about one person, or one leader. I realised very quickly that I had shortcomings as a leader and that I needed to bring some ideas from elsewhere, from experienced players who had been at the coalface for a number of years, and in particular from the guys that maybe had missed out in the captaincy challenge.” said O’Driscoll

The right culture is enormously important for the success of any team, he suggested. In his case, success came from being in teams where members were encouraged to see their own personal performance as secondary. And a successful team cannot have a blame culture, O’Driscoll added. It must have people who take responsibility for their own actions.

In the digital age, bringing people together as a team can be hard. At Leinster they introduced a rule which helped. “You can walk into a dressing room and have 50 people on their phone, not talking to one another. So we introduced a rule that everyone going in every morning must shake hands with everyone in the organisation. It came from France, where everyone does the two kisses, so we went with a handshake or a fist bump,” he said.

“That five seconds of conversations every day gave you an opportunity to have this commonality with the other person and understand them a little more. In rugby, you’ve got to feel you have each other’s back and it has been an integral part of the success,” he said.

 

Focus to win

Bouncing back from knockbacks and disappointments is important too, as is learning how to do that.

One intervention that was hugely beneficial to him occurred when a sports psychologist suggested that, instead of concentrating on improving seven or eight facets of his game, as O’Driscoll worried he needed to, he should concentrate on the two which he felt could be world class. O’Driscoll did so, to enormous success.

Focusing on what sets you apart from the crowd, your USP, is good business advice too. Not only will it differentiate you but, as in O’Driscoll’s case, it gives you confidence.

Confidence can also be built on constructive feedback, from customers as well as team members. When he gave up rugby and began a new career in TV punditry, what O’Driscoll missed most was the honest feedback that athletes get. He could find no one to give it to him, so he didn’t improve as fast as he wanted to.

“The only way I was going to improve, to understand where my timing was awful, was through feedback. They all said I was doing great and I said that’s no good to me, I needed to know where I was going wrong. It’s the only way to grow and get better.”

Similarly, in business, feedback from your least contented customers most often deliver the competitive insights that help you win in markets around the world.

 

Enterprise Ireland’s Ambition events feature speakers with experience in developing business in new markets.  View upcoming Ambition events and register today.