Cubic Telecom is Helping Germany’s Biggest Carmakers to Drive Forward

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“Enterprise Ireland is always extremely helpful in terms of providing meeting space and setting up partner meetings, finding out beforehand who we want to make contact with and enabling those briefings at the show.” Gerry McQuaid, CCO Cubic Telecom

Overview:

  • Sector: IoT
  • Markets: APAC, China, Europe, USA, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Middle East
  • Supports: Trade Missions & Events, International Office Network

Case Study: Cubic Telecom

In an always-on world where consumers expect instant access to information and experiences, car manufacturers are clamouring to ensure that 24/7 connectivity is provided behind the wheel — and Dublin-based Cubic Telecom is supplying the solution.

Cubic’s global connectivity platform PACE enables cars and other devices to automatically connect to high-speed local mobile networks around the world. The company is a fully licensed mobile services provider powering high-quality connectivity worldwide for global manufacturers, including six brands within Volkswagen Group, e.GO Electric Vehicles and Panasonic Automotive, among others.

Not to mention, Cubic’s connected car solution supports 2.5 million cars in 93 markets globally, with capabilities across Europe, North America, Latin America, the Middle East, Russia, Africa and Asia-Pacific.

“Our focus spans wider than the Irish market,” reveals CCO Gerry McQuaid, who has been part of the Cubic Telecom team from its beginning in 2009. “Obviously we support the sale of our partners’ products in Ireland but we are focused on the global market and we have had that global focus from the start.”

But scaling internationally requires more than identifying a global customer base and Gerry says Enterprise Ireland’s assistance has been critical in helping Cubic to forge strategic partnerships every step of the way.

 

Powering global connections

When Cubic Telecom made its first foray into the international market, it was with a SIM card that let travellers make low-cost phone calls from anywhere in the world without incurring huge roaming charges. But the company soon switched gears to focus on creating technology that would connect any device to the internet while abroad and in 2012 took part in a major trade mission to China, helmed by Enterprise Ireland and then Taoiseach Enda Kenny.

“Enterprise Ireland helped to arrange private meetings in China with the Taoiseach which gave a fantastic boost to our fledging profile in China,” Gerry says, noting that the trip ultimately helped to cement our business relationships with Qualcomm, Lenovo and China Unicom.

At the same time, demand for vehicle connectivity was on the rise. Automakers wanted to transform cars into infotainment centres on wheels and Cubic Telecom’s technology, which is embedded at the manufacturing stage, could enable standardised vehicles to offer connected services anywhere in the world.

“We’ve always attended MWC and exhibited as part of Enterprise Ireland’s pavilion stand. That’s where we meet our customers, prospects, mobile operator partners, technology partners and important industry analysts every year,” Gerry says. “We are delighted with the support provided to us by Enterprise Ireland in regard to exhibition stand facilities and the arrangement of key meetings ahead of each event.”

Cubic’s first auto contract was with German car giant Audi, which was looking to provide its drivers with a fully digital experience — something that traditional mobile operators were struggling to achieve.

“We were delighted to partner with the leading automotive brand within Volkswagen Group and this partnership has been an intrinsic part of developing our business success in Germany,” Gerry says.

As a result, Germany is one of Cubic’s biggest overseas markets.

“It’s important to point out that we did not select Germany as a generic target market,” Gerry says. “Instead, we looked at the world’s biggest automotive manufacturers and decided which companies we wished to build a partnership with. This naturally led us to Germany, the home of some of the world’s top auto manufacturers. We were very careful to take the time to understand what is required to do business successfully with large prestigious German companies and we had excellent support from the Enterprise Ireland team in Germany.”

Enterprise Ireland still works closely with Cubic Telecom to support its continued growth in other international markets.

“As well as being part of Enterprise Ireland’s pavilion at MWC Barcelona annually, last year we participated with Enterprise Ireland in MWC Americas in Los Angeles for the first time. That proved to be a great success,” shares Elaine Murray, Cubic Telecom’s External Communications Manager, adding, “Enterprise Ireland is always extremely helpful in terms of providing meeting space and setting up partner meetings, finding out beforehand who we want to make contact with and enabling those briefings at the show.”

Besides trade shows and networking opportunities, Cubic Telecom is often invited to sit on conference panels hosted by Enterprise Ireland, which Elaine describes as “integral” to the company’s exposure in foreign markets. Gerry agrees: “We’re always more than happy to participate because it’s a win-win situation.”

Brazil, Brexit and beyond

One of the next stops on Cubic’s path to world domination is Brazil, a notoriously tough nut for non-Brazilian car manufacturers to crack in terms of IoT connected device services.

“We have received excellent advice from Enterprise Ireland to assist with setting up our local presence in Brazil,” Gerry says. “Like in Germany, we align ourselves with the markets that our customers have prioritised. As all of the world’s major automotive companies want to sell connected cars in Brazil, we prioritised establishing a unique locally compliant solution for global automotive and IoT companies there.”

Speaking of complicated, while the UK is not a dominant market for Cubic, it is an important one for many of the company’s customers.

“If you’re driving on the motorways in the UK, most of the cars are German-built cars, so Brexit does have a concern for us in terms of what’s going to happen to the ease of doing business but we’re not as exposed as other companies because we are used to dealing with complicated market conditions around the world,” Gerry says.

His advice: Irish companies must reduce their dependence on the UK market, regardless of the Brexit outcome.

“Any Irish company that’s trying to do business in overseas markets has a very valuable resource that is always there to help in Enterprise Ireland,”

“Start by considering the needs of the customer you are selling to, what solution you are selling, who you need to sell it to and what markets those target customers are in. Then leverage the Enterprise Ireland regional offices to get introductions to the people in that market who you need to meet.”

Read more on the supports available to help your business diversify into new markets or speak to your Development Advisor today.

 

Transport & Logistics Industry Update – Webinar

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The Covid-19 pandemic, Brexit and the re-shaping of transport routes brought a very turbulent start to 2021. Logistics and transportation companies involved in the movement, storage and flow of goods have been directly impacted and had to rapidly adapt to changing business landscape. Irish companies exporting their products or importing components or raw materials need to follow and understand these trends to stay competitive.

This Enterprise Ireland webinar identifies these challenges and examines current developments with a panel of industry experts.

The webinar is chaired by Enterprise Ireland’s Director UK & Northern Europe Marina Donohoe with insights from:

 • Gopal R, Global Leader, Supply Chain & Logistics, Frost & Sullivan

• John Ward, Managing Director, Maurice Ward & Co. Ltd Ireland

• Richard Nolan, CEO, Nolan Transport – Nolan Group

 

Register now to attend the webinar.

p3 hotels CEO

Agile Innovation funding helped p3 Hotels to develop a core product that is scalable

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Phelim Pekaar

“We found it simpler than the R&D to apply, and the approval came faster as well.”

Phelim Pekaar, CEO, p3 Hotels

Key Takeouts:

  • Support from Enterprise Ireland’s Agile Innovation Fund enabled p3 Hotels to develop a scalable product that could be rolled out to multiple customers.
  • Approval allowed them to allocate the full €100,000 project cost, with €50,000 provided by the Agile Innovation Fund and €50,000 by p3 Hotels.
  • Investment in innovation has helped p3 Hotels to grow revenues from €700,000 between 2008-2016 to a projected €1.2m this year.

Case Study: P3 Hotels

 

Securing a contract to develop innovative booking engine integrated with the property management software for Ireland’s largest hotel group was just the opportunity p3 Hotels CEO Phelim Pekaar had been looking for.

After years of successfully supplying hotel groups with custom-designed ecommerce software solutions, Phelim wanted to develop a scalable product that p3 Hotels could roll out to multiple customers. However, it would take significant resources to research, develop and test such a product.

Phelim explains: “We came to Dalata [Hotel Group] with a design of how we thought the booking engine should really look. It was a fresh design for the user interface and we also pitched the idea of online check-in. The response was really positive – they loved the online check-in and we won the contract.”

p3 Hotels decided to build the software solution and sell it to Dalata on a license fee basis, as opposed to being paid a project fee, which also meant that p3 Hotels would have to fund the development costs.

 

Simpler and faster Agile Innovation application process

Phelim spoke to Enterprise Ireland about research and development support. “We had done an R&D grant and a business improvement grant with Enterprise Ireland before and this time I was advised to do the Agile Innovation Grant,” he says. “We found it simpler than the R&D to apply, and the approval came faster as well.

“It meant that we were able to allocate the full €100,000 that this was going to cost us to build – €50,000 from p3 Hotels and €50,000 from the Agile Innovation Fund.

Apply for the Agile Innovation Fund now.

“We were able to do the project properly; we didn’t have to cut corners. We had six people involved in the project, we did user testing, we designed the screens, we talked to four hotels about how they did the check-in process.

“Our ecommerce solutions for hotel groups have to communicate with a central reservation system called Opera, which is owned by Oracle. We got the engineer from Opera over to our office for two days and we went through all the APIs of how this works.

“The product went live in two Dalata properties last July and has since been rolled out to another 24 hotels.”

The Agile Innovation Fund offers up to 50% funding to a maximum of €150,000 in grant aid for projects with a total cost of up to €300,000. It is designed to make it easier and quicker for smaller companies to access research, development and innovation funding. Agile’s main feature is its fast turnaround time, with an application process that results in decisions in a few weeks rather than several months.

The innovative approach p3 Hotels took carried an element of uncertainty. However, it wasn’t the first time that the company had shown the courage to do things differently. Since 2009, p3 Hotels hadn’t gone after any new business that was not a hotel but had maintained existing contracts with customers in other sectors. By 2016, these contracts still accounted for almost 30% of their revenue but Phelim took the tough decision to end all non-hotel contracts in order to focus exclusively on winning customers in that sector.

He says: “That was really hard – it was a big risk – but it was absolutely the right decision because before the money stopped coming in from our last non-hotel contract, we had already replaced it with a new large hotel group, Britannia Hotels.

“It’s serendipitous, isn’t it? The minute you let something go, your focus is different, and you allow new opportunities to come along. In the next two years we won five new hotel groups, doubling the number that we had.” says Pekaar.

The approach p3 Hotels has taken to achieving growth through innovation is paying off. The company’s revenue, which flatlined at €600,000 to €700,000 from 2008-2016, is projected to reach €1.2m this year.

The support of the Agile Innovation Fund has been instrumental in this growth. Phelim says: “Agile helped us turn our whole development process on its head. It provided the resources that meant we could develop a core software product that is scalable – one that can be rolled out to new customers. Previously, our work was all custom-built for individual customers.”

“We now have a very aggressive growth plan to target hotel groups in the UK, Europe, and the US. Oracle is now recommending us because of the value we bring to their Opera system. I would say that we were instrumental in Dalata rolling out Opera throughout all their hotels. We’ve also been instrumental in a number of other hotels staying with Opera when they go to a retainer process. Our hotel clients know that if they move away from Opera, they lose us – and we add so much value to the rest of their business.”

Apply for the Agile Innovation Fund now.

edtech

Edtech for the workplace: opportunity or obligation?

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As AI and automation change the nature of work and jobs rapidly over the coming years, edtech innovations must be ready to help people and organisations keep pace.

Jean Hammond of LearnLaunch, an edtech accelerator and innovation hub based in Boston, was keynote speaker at a conference organised by Enterprise Ireland and The Learning Forum in Dublin in June. At Impacts and Future Trends in the EdTech and Corporate Learning Landscapes, Enterprise Ireland-backed companies met industry experts and investors, to hear how education is changing, and the opportunities that change presents.

As automation becomes more widespread, the importance of soft skills – including complex problem solving, critical thinking and teamwork – will persist. In her keynote presentation, Jean asked: “Why do we call them soft skills? Because they’re really, really hard.”

 

Edtech is an unstoppable force

Edtech innovation is accelerating, as the ways people learn in school, university and the workplace undergo a major transformation. Workforce education is about to become intricately entwined with people’s careers, Jean explained: “We’ve had a history of thinking that there was a period of time, four years in college, and then you worked for ten years and then maybe went away for two weeks, or went back to education for a year, but that’s not what the world looks like now.”

This is a challenge facing society as a whole, Jean noted. She advised delegates not to solely focus on the next great start-up or innovation: “Don’t spend all your time thinking about the innovators. Think carefully about the innovation adopters. What does it take to adopt change?”

Industries must interact with edtech entrepreneurs and signal what they need, in order for start-ups to create the solutions required. If the market fails to tell innovators what it wants, it’s extremely unlikely that innovators will be able to develop the right solutions.

Jean described her role linking companies with start-ups: “I have probably seen over a thousand different edtech start-up business plans over the last ten years. We know what people are out there trying to work on.”

 

Impact of big data and machine learning

Technology has moved at an amazing pace over the past few decades. Jean advised that big data and machine learning will drive change even faster: “Machine learning can analyse any system and find out where there are problems, where there are issues, and then go and provide a way to address these.”

The challenge for edtech is to react to change in time, so that people can transition into new roles before their old tasks become automated or obsolete. Jean commented, “We need to make the systems and processes of learning and deliver them where we need them.”

 

Today’s edtech market

She explained that only about 2.7% of the global education market is currently digitised: “Probably it will max out at around 12% because we’ll always have teachers, we’ll always have humans as a part of the system, but across the next few years, there will be a lot of change.”

The market globally is worth around US $5.75 trillion, with that value projected to rise to US $10 trillion by 2030. Jean explained that education is the biggest sector to ever undergo digital transformation.

Delegate John O’Donnell of Irish curriculum management company Akari Software asked Jean about lifetime learning and how it may disrupt universities. Jean noted that a level of transformation is inevitable but that universities provide quality credentials and should start offering “bites of learning that can be delivered over and over again into a set of stackable credentials.”

After reaching a high in 2015, venture capital investment in edtech fell but is now rising again. A LearnLaunch study looked at where funding for edtech resides: “Clearly there are some things happening in formal education to bring an increased amount of skill training into the higher education and community college, or sometimes even high school. Then the workplace is delivering both functional skills and soft skills, with a high rate of company formation in technology.”

Jean said that some of the most intriguing innovations were the next generation of learning management systems (LMSs), new e-learning tools, advanced ways of looking at assessment and analytics, and credential management.

Companies who have never invested in edtech previously are entering the market (such as Walmart) and long-time funders are entering the process earlier. Jean explained that earlier engagement is intended to “push those start-ups in the direction that they need because start-ups will listen if you tell them what to do. They care about your opinion so they will be steering themselves to try and meet your needs.”

This is advanced strategic thinking, which will help ensure companies have the tools they need to upskill their workforce: “I don’t just think edtech is the opportunity of the decade, I think that we have to do this.”

Learn how Enterprise Ireland invests in new technologies with our range of innovation supports.

Man with lightbulb representing Innovation

Agile Innovation Fund: Easier than ever for companies of all sizes to access R&D funding

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It is now easier than ever for Irish companies to access R&D funding to improve their products and services and compete internationally.

That was the message from Enterprise Ireland and the national network of Local Enterprise Offices to representatives from more than 60 companies who attended a research, development and innovation event recently in Dublin.

Enterprise Ireland and the LEOs pledged to use the Agile Innovation Fund to support companies of all sizes as they to seek to open new export markets and grow – promising a fast, flexible and simple application process.

 

Find more information about the Agile Innovation Fund here.

Speaking at the Agile Innovation Workshop, Eoghan Hanrahan, Enterprise Ireland Regional Director for the Dublin Region and Regional Development, said: “In doing R&D, companies have to challenge the norms, do something different, look at achieving some kind of technical innovation to try and future-proof their company.

 

Get support for Agile Innovation

“We recognise that R&D can be challenging but it is a very important step for any business to take and it’s also important that they are supported in doing so. Enterprise Ireland and the LEOs are here to assist people and companies who want to invest in R&D. The Agile Innovation Fund offers up to 50% funding to a maximum of €150,000 in grant aid.”

Irish companies are spending less on R&D than most European competitors. Latest Eurostat figures show that spending in 2017 equated to 1.05% of GDP, almost half the EU average of 2.07% and well behind R&D leaders Sweden, Austria, Denmark and Germany – all of whom spent more than 3% of GDP.

Of the €3bn that was invested in R&D in Ireland, €1bn was spent by indigenous companies. It is notable that in 2007, Ireland spent a higher percentage of GDP (1.23%) on R&D than it did in 2017.

Joe Madden, Manager of In-Company R&D Supports at Enterprise Ireland, told the workshop that the Agile Innovation Fund was designed to counter the belief among SMEs that funding R&D is too costly and that securing state support for projects is too complex and geared towards larger operations.

 

Flexible and fast access to Agile Innovation funding

“The Agile innovation fund was introduced at the beginning of 2018 as a response to a very steep fall off in applications for R&D support,” Mr Madden said. “Companies were telling us that the standard R&D application process was too complicated and very often they would have a project finished before they even knew whether they were going to get approval to do it.

“We needed to introduce something much more flexible, much faster and where the funding wasn’t as high so that we could apply a less onerous process for evaluating and approving applications.”

The main feature of the Agile Innovation Fund is its fast turnaround time, with an application process that results in decisions in a few weeks rather than several months. More than 90 companies have drawn down around €20m in funding since it was launched last year, with 90% of them rating the application process as relatively simple in a survey.

Madden added: “There are only two documents required to apply for the Agile Innovation Fund, an online application form and a project plan. The project plan is what the technical assessment of the application is based on. The technical assessors are looking for two things: is this eligible R&D and are the costs reasonable. To be eligible R&D, there has to be technical uncertainty – this means the project must demonstrate some kind of product or process development technical challenge.

“Total expenditure on any single application is limited to €300,000, so if your project spend goes to €300,001, it is not eligible for funding. Typically for a smaller company, the funding would be 45% of the total cost, which equates to a maximum grant of €135,000. If a small company collaborates with a partner, this funding can rise to 50% and therefore the limit increases to €150,000.”

The goal of the Agile Innovation Fund is to increase the amount of spending by indigenous companies of all sizes on R&D across the economy.

 

Local Enterprise Office support

Oisin Geoghegan, Head of Enterprise at LEO Fingal, advised companies that are not Enterprise Ireland clients to get in touch with their Local Enterprise Office.

He said: “Providing assistance and funding for R&D projects or innovation is one of the core reasons why the Local Enterprise Offices are here. R&D is not just about wearing white coats and having a lab. Most of the businesses we are dealing with could potentially apply for and receive R&D grants

“We want to see more applications from SMEs and the LEOs will work with you to give you advice and guidance on the application process. It’s called Agile for a reason, the application process is straightforward, it’s online and we want to see applications processed and approved quickly.”

Apply for the Agile Innovation Fund now.

John Ferguson Ambition Asia Pacific 2

‘Phenomenal’ middle class growth in Asia Pacific an opportunity for Irish companies

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The growth of the middle class throughout Asia Pacific presents ambitious Irish companies with unprecedented opportunities, delegates at the recent Ambition Asia Pacific conference in Dublin heard.

Some 23 million new ASEAN households are on track to earn more than US $35,000 a year by 2030 in what is “the fastest-growing, most dynamic region in the world,” said John Ferguson, Director of Country Analysis at the Economist Intelligence Unit, who provided an overview of growth trends and opportunities in the region.

 

Growth rates in Asia Pacific countries

In China, major strategic programmes such as Made in China 2025 and the long term Belt and Road construction initiative “are not going away”, he said.

“Chinese growth is still just very modestly slowing down to around 6%,” he said. The government there is using monetary goals and fiscal policy to maintain that growth.

Even allowing for the challenges facing China, “it’s still going to grow pretty reasonably well over the next couple of years,” he said.

Growth prospects in Japan, at 1%, are much smaller, however. As a huge, developed and rich economy, it’s one in which there are still “a lot of opportunities” for Irish companies, he suggested.

Much of that opportunity relates to Japan’s Society 5.0 initiative, the Japanese government’s focus on artificial intelligence, sensor technology and automation.

“This is a huge initiative for the Japanese. That’s where some of the growth opportunities will present themselves in Japan, already a highly developed economy but really trying to push themselves with this fourth industrial revolution.”

India represents a particularly “bright spot” in the global economy, said Ferguson, who predicted growth of around 7% on average likely over the next five years.John Ferguson Ambition Asia Pacific

This compares with global growth of around 2% and Asian growth of between 4% and 5%. India’s growth outlook is “extraordinary”, he said.

The primary opportunity in India, as in Asia Pacific countries such as Vietnam and Cambodia, is one of population development and subsequent growth in demand for consumer goods and services.

With predicted growth levels of 5% and a large population, Indonesia is another really strong performer, again driven by the fast growth of its middle, or consuming, class, he said.

Indonesia’s five-year growth rate forecast is almost double that of Singapore’s, at 2.9%. However, the additional opportunity in Singapore comes from its ease of doing business and its popular status as a launchpad from which to do business elsewhere in the Asia Pacific region, he said.

So, while Singapore is growing a more slowly than some of the less well developed countries in the region, it’s still growing at “a pretty impressive rate of growth for economy at its stage of development.”

South Korea is another mature market but still likely to show average growth of 2.7% over the next five years. “In our view, that’s a pretty reasonable growth for a country at that stage of development.”

“The rising middle class in the Asia Pacific region is phenomenal. The world is moving east.” Kevin Sherry, executive director Global Business Development, Enterprise Ireland

Australia – another frequent launchpad into the wider region for Irish companies – and New Zealand are both stable economies but, cautioned Ferguson, both are seeing climate change and immigration becoming significant political issues.

Kevin Sherry at Ambition Asia Pacific Conf.For Irish businesses looking at these markets, either as part of their supply chain or as end markets, it’s worth keeping an eye on regulatory initiatives in relation to either, he said.

Enterprise Ireland is working with more than 600 companies who are doing business in the Asia Pacific region.  “Irish companies are used to winning in the Asia Pacific markets,” said Kevin Sherry, executive director Global Business Development at Enterprise Ireland.  “The rising middle class in the Asia Pacific region is phenomenal. The world is moving east.”

Depending on what happens in October in relation to Brexit, Ireland may be the only English speaking country in the EU, a fact that presents challenges but opportunities too, he pointed out.

Enterprise Ireland is expanding its footprint in the Asia Pacific region to help support Irish companies looking to capitalise on the growing level of opportunities there, opening new offices in Auckland, in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, in Melbourne, Australia and in Shenzhen, China, he said.

 

Read more Global Ambition articles on the opportunities for Irish companies in Asia.

Irish fintech

Nordics are embracing Irish fintech innovation

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Tom Holgersson, a senior fintech advisor based in Enterprise Ireland’s Stockholm Office, describes why Irish fintech is thriving in the Nordic region.

“Similar to the Irish approach, the Nordic financial services industry is quite innovative. They are willing to both leverage and embrace new technologies to drive revenue and reduce cost,” says Stephen Florence, Account Director at Fenergo.

Irish fintechs have been active in the Nordics for years, with an increasing number targeting growth in the region. Success has been built on shared attitudes to innovation and the potential of both markets to develop as globally significant fintech hubs.

Both benefit from thriving tech scenes. Sweden is second only to Silicon Valley in terms of the number of unicorns – multi-billion-dollar tech companies – produced per capita. According to data from OECD, Sweden has 20 start-ups per 1,000 employees, compared to five in the US. Companies like Spotify, King and Skype are household names.

 

Impressive growth of Irish fintech

Over the past few years, the Irish fintech sector has grown impressively. Since 2014, Enterprise Ireland has invested in more than 80 fintech start-ups. That portfolio generated more than €1 billion in revenue in 2016.

In the Nordics’ rapidly growing sector, Sweden stands out. According to Nordic Tech List, Swedish companies attracted over 75pc of total fintech capital invested in the region in 2017. Well-known fintechs include Klarna, iZettle, Trustly and Tink.

Established Irish players, including Fenergo, Monex, Rockall Technologies and Corvil are known to many in the Nordics. Meanwhile, a new breed of companies is emerging, which includes Ammeon, Boxever, Cambrist, Leveris, AQMetrics and Know Your Customer.

 

Innovative solutions for global issues

Innovative fintechs have focused on solving problems across the global financial services industry. The mix of companies blending finance and tech has supported disruption, advancing new ways to understand, test and prove adherence to compliance regulations.

Solutions span a range of applications across regulatory reporting, risk management, Know Your Customer (KYC) compliance, anti-money laundering, secure messaging and transaction monitoring. The biggest opportunities stem from banking and finance regulations that apply globally.

Fenergo’s ability to solve challenges for global banks is proving an advantage in the Nordics. Stephen says, “The Nordic region has multiple regulatory jurisdictions, languages and currencies. Some form part of the European Union – Finland adopted the euro, Denmark and Sweden did not and neither Norway nor Iceland are members of the EU. This poses complex compliance challenges for financial institutions that are operating across the region. As we have a rules-based engine, we can support multiple regulatory demands with one instance of the solution. If we look at our current client base, most are global institutions who have experienced and solved the same challenges that financial institutions in the Nordics are currently facing.”

Beyond regtech, developments in big data, payments and cybersecurity are compelling.

Like other industries, banking faces the opportunity and challenge of leveraging real-time data and becoming more customer centric. Analysing large volumes of data will enable banks to better predict and tailor solutions for individual customers.

The area of payments is also creating challenges, with the landscape facing disruption due to changes in the value chain. Payments regulations are putting banks’ revenue under pressure and removing barriers to entry, as changes in customer behavior and increasing digitalization opens the field to new local and international players. Innovative fintech solutions are driving banks to offer customers more engaging and interactive services, with most exploring options in mobile wallets, loyalty cards, blockchain, account aggregation across multiple banks and foreign exchange services.

 

Regtech & Cybersecurity

The importance of cybersecurity continues to rise, as threats become more sophisticated. Most banks face challenges in malware, phishing attacks and fraud, complicated by the growing importance of customer centricity – providers must strike a balance between ease of use and security. Innovative products are emerging in biometric security, customer identification tools, malware detection and pattern recognition.

Enterprise Ireland has published a regtech white paper, which explores solutions beyond the customary compliance and regulatory requirements. It shows how regtech enables transformation across business functions by better utilising data and insights.

Download the white paper here.

This article was originally published in the Sunday Independent.

Swiss time

Smart Swiss production creates opportunity for Irish suppliers

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Jens Altmann, a market adviser based in Enterprise Ireland’s Dusseldorf office, explains why Irish exporters are looking to Switzerland.

Fittingly for an alpine country, Switzerland offers a mountain of opportunity for Irish businesses. Although small, at just over half the size of Ireland, Switzerland is highly business-focused, boasting the second-highest gross domestic product (GDP) per capita in the world.

The Swiss manufacturing sector includes many familiar names due to an Irish presence. These include ABB Technologies, a global leader in power, robotics and automation technology, and Liebherr, one of the world’s largest manufacturers of construction machinery, helping to shape technological advances across many industries.

The development and implementation of digital applications is supported by the country’s infrastructure, data governance, education and workforce, subsidies, and other factors. Continuous development at Switzerland’s high level requires a comprehensive and reliable supply chain. That creates a variety of opportunities, particularly for companies developing smart manufacturing and industrial internet of things (IIoT) solutions.

Ralf Guenthner, Senior Partner at Swiss consultancy TEAM-FACTORY, comments, “Most technology companies in Switzerland are aware of the value IIoT and digitalisation could create for them. Developing a new mindset and holistic approach, combining technology, organisational changes and human behaviours, as well as building up a strong ecosystem, would boost value realisation.”

Ireland’s IoT industry is one of the most dynamic in the world, with companies largely focused on the industrial space, and providing software, platforms, sensors, integrated circuits, antennas, and more. Irish companies target a range of sectors including manufacturing, transport, logistics and engineering, with the aim of increasing operational efficiency, improving productivity, and enhancing health and safety.

 

Focus on Innovation

Last year, Enterprise Ireland hosted a trade mission to Zurich to help Irish companies explore IIoT opportunities in Switzerland. Over two days, 10 Irish companies engaged with industry associations, visited Swiss world-class manufacturers, and attended a targeted workshop and networking session.

Swiss multinational Schindler was one company Irish attendees visited during the trade mission. Schindler is well known for its elevators, escalators, and moving walk-ways, carrying both people and materials, and connecting vertical and horizontal transport systems through intelligent mobility solutions. Schindler’s futuristic PORT Technology lab in Switzerland showcases their ideas for innovative new transit management systems and urban living concepts.

Based in Zurich, ETH University is famous for cutting-edge research in areas such as microelectronics and robotics, and is one of the world’s top ten institutions. Enterprise Ireland collaborated with the university to host an afternoon workshop that brought together Irish companies and Swiss industry experts.

Compelling questions addressed during the session include – How do machines optimally collect and share data with other machines? How can they operate with increasing autonomy? Which applications are most impacting the development of IIoT and Machine to Machine (M2M)? How can opportunities for suppliers of everything from antennae and chips, to sensors and software, be captured?

 

Irish Swiss relations

Enterprise Ireland’s Dusseldorf office is focused on helping IoT companies to identify and exploit opportunities arising from the digitalisation of Swiss industry, and across the wider German-language region. We are extending our engagement with Swiss companies and industry leaders to actively promote Ireland as a technology provider for the IIoT value chain.

Switzerland’s high-tech leadership and the collaboration with suppliers from an international value chain, combine to make it a high-potential market for growing new business and technology partnerships.

Brigid O’Donovan, technology business consultant facilitating collaboration between world-class Swiss and Irish technology organisations, confirmed the potential of Swiss-Irish collaboration, noting, “Both countries are well positioned to take advantage of the productivity and economic growth opportunities of digitalisation.”

There is now a significant opportunity for Irish companies to become part of Switzerland’s enhanced value chain. That is a summit worth achieving.

 

This article was originally published in the Sunday Independent.

FAITH: Improving mental health care for cancer survivors

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H2020 FAITH team image and case study heading

“FAITH is potentially life-changing research. To achieve the ambitious goals of the project we needed to leverage our networks in Europe and build a consortium of experts.”


Philip O’ Brien, Technical Co-ordinator, FAITH Horizon 2020 project

Key Takeouts:

  • Walton, part of the Waterford Institute of Technology, is leading a project that aims to develop a model for mental health monitoring of cancer patients, to improve their quality of life.
  • The FAITH project has received €4.8m in funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme.
  • As well as co-ordinating FAITH, Walton is driving the development of artificial intelligence (AI) models and the deployment of a federated learning framework.

H2020 Case Study: FAITH

    Cancer remains the second leading cause of death globally and as many as one in five people living with cancer experiences depression and mood change post diagnosis. It’s a stark statistic and one that led researchers at Walton Institute, an ICT research and development centre within the Waterford Institute of Technology, to begin looking at the area of mental health in cancer patients to see if they could use their expertise to help. 

    “We believe the potential for ICT applications in health is massive. We had an initial idea about looking at markers of depression and when the Horizon 2020 call came out, which was specifically targeting improving the quality of life for cancer survivors, it was an opportunity to take the idea to the next level,” says Philip O’ Brien, technical co-ordinator of FAITH.

    The goal of FAITH (a Federated Artificial Intelligence solution for moniToring mental Health status after cancer treatment) is to provide an ‘AI Angel’ app that remotely analyses depression markers, such as changes in activity, outlook, sleep and appetite. When a negative trend is detected, an alert can be sent to the patient’s healthcare providers or other caregivers who can then offer support.

    The project uses the latest, secure AI and machine learning techniques within the interactive app located on patients’ phones. Key to the project is federated machine learning, which enables the patient’s personal data to stay within the AI model on each phone, guaranteeing privacy.

    “As the model collects data on a person’s phone it retrains itself to improve and personalize it for each individual.” explains O’Brien

    “As the model collects data on a person’s phone it retrains itself to improve and personalize it for each individual. But we also want to learn from all that data to gain insights that are beneficial to the broader population, so when a model updates, that update, rather than the person’s data is sent back to the cloud. All the updates are processed and a new, improved model is sent back out to everyone and that cycle repeats,”

     

    Another important aspect of the project is a focus on explainable AI, which is about ensuring that healthcare professionals can understand why the machine has reached a particular decision about the person’s mental health.

    “Explainable AI is extremely important for building trust. As AI impacts more and more on our lives the implications of this are huge,” says O’Brien.

     

    Why Horizon 2020?

    “It was clear from the start that to achieve the ambitious goals of the FAITH project we would need to leverage our networks in Europe and build a consortium of clinicians and technical experts. By breaking the project concept into a number of key objectives we then built our consortium based on specific expertise to achieve each objective,” says O’Brien.

    FAITH brings together partners from Ireland, Portugal, Spain, Italy and Cyprus into a strong multi-disciplinary team. Trial sites in eminent cancer hospitals in Madrid, Waterford and Lisbon, involving both clinicians and patients, are assessing the concept and feedback is being used to refine the model.

    As with most Horizon projects there are multiple dependencies across the various work packages and co-ordinating the whole presents some challenges. At the helm of FAITH is Gary McManus, Research Project Manager at Walton.

    “Different countries and organisations have different regulations and ways of operating so that’s one challenge. Also, from experience from previous projects, I knew it was important to remember that each partner, although working towards the global aim of the project, will have their own interests. Being cognisant of these sub-goals from the outset and, where possible, facilitating these in the overall planning process is essential,” says McManus.’

    “Different countries and organisations have different regulations and ways of operating so that’s one challenge. Also, from experience from previous projects, I knew it was important to remember that each partner, although working towards the global aim of the project, will have their own interests. Being cognisant of these sub-goals from the outset and, where possible, facilitating these in the overall planning process is essential,” says McManus.

    “But by having strong leaders for each work package, who are experts in their domain, we can be sure that delivery of each element will build towards the final offering.”

     

    Knowledge gain

    Having taken part in multiple Horizon 2020 projects, O’Brien believes that one of the great benefits is the extensive knowledge gain within a short period.

    “Being involved in a Horizon project is the opportunity to upskill rapidly and build on your underlying expertise. Through your links with other organisations across Europe you get an insight into different ways of working and you cross paths with people from many disciplines. For example, through FAITH we’ve been talking to a range of healthcare professionals and leveraging their experience.

    “The EU spends a lot of time and money with experts pinpointing the areas where we need to see technology improving to tackle specific challenges in the next five to ten years. By being involved in these projects you’re building on all of that knowledge rather than working in isolation. Then learning from the people you are working with across Europe pushes you up a level again.”

    Moreover, the end of a Horizon project is usually the beginning of something else.

    “One of our work packages is looking at what happens post project and how we take it to the next stage. We know bigger healthcare trials will be needed, for example. But from Walton’s point of view we’ve broken some new ground on explainable AI which has a lot of applications outside this project, so that’s an area we’d like to take forward. You need to be clear about how you build on the project, either in a well-defined follow-up project or by commercial exploitation of the output.”

     

    For further information about applying for support from Horizon Europe, the successor programme to Horizon 2020, please contact HorizonSupport@enterprise-ireland.com or consult www.horizoneurope.ie.

     

    Map of EU with padlock

    GDPR and Data transfer to or through the UK

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    The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) came into force on 25 May 2018 and unifies data protection law throughout the EU. It gives individuals control over their personal data and requires businesses and other organisations to put in place processes that protect and safeguard that data. The regulation also addresses the transfer of personal data outside the EU and EEA.

     

    Dealing with the UK, USA and other third countries

    GDPR came into sharp focus this year as a result of the UK’s withdrawal from the EU. GDPR still applies in the UK, however as it is now a third country it is subject to the GDPR rules governing the transfer of data outside the EU and EEA.

     

    Data transfer to/through the UK

    The first thing for firms to do is to establish exactly where their data goes. Companies may not realise that their cloud storage provider is actually located in Britain or Northern Ireland. Their pension schemes, payroll, healthcare plans may all be run out of the UK and involve the regular transfer of personal data. Workplace benefits databases could also be held in Britain or Northern Ireland. Even translation services might be covered if personal data is included in the material to be translated.

    Having established that data is being transferred to the UK, the next step is to decide if that needs to continue. There may be options to look for another service provider in Ireland or another EU Member State and these should be explored.

    Standard Contractual Clauses

    If it is not possible or if it is too difficult to take this option, there is a ready solution to hand. There is a tool that can be used to solve this problem and it is available on the Data Protection Commission website. It is known as the standard contractual clauses (SCCs). This is a set of off-the-shelf clauses developed by the European Commission and which are recognised as an appropriate safeguard to ensure that firms remain compliant with GDPR.

    The SCCs are already written and only require firms to fill in the blanks with their details. They can be appended to existing contracts and come into force when both parties sign them. Once signed, this enables firms to continue transferring data to the UK in full compliance with GDPR, and people still have their rights.

    The data subject is also given certain specific rights under the SCCs even though they are not party to the relevant contract. Firms are also advised to update their privacy statements to indicate that the data is transferring to the UK under the terms of the SCCs.

    The SCCs will cover most situations, but there are certain more complex cases where they may not apply. These are relatively rare, but firms in doubt should consult the Data Protection Commission or seek their own legal advice  to check out their particular situation.

    There are also certain situations where the data transfer is not covered by contract. These include cases where data is being transferred from a UK Controller to an Irish processor for processing and then transferred back to the Controller. This has been a relatively routine process up until now, as the data remained within the EU at all times. The best advice for firms based in Ireland who find themselves in this situation is to look at the clauses within the SCCs and insert them into the service level agreement governing the activity. This will demonstrate an intention to be GDPR compliant in the new situation.

    The same will apply to Irish shared services centres carrying out global back and middle office functions for multinational parents. They should update the terms of service to UK-based affiliates to include the SCCs.

     

    Data Protection Policies

    Some very large organisations use what are known as Binding Corporate Rules (BCRs). These are legally binding internal codes of conduct operating within a multinational group, which applies to transfers of personal data from the group’s EEA entities to the group’s non-EEA entities. The approval of BCRs can take a significant period of time and also, given the cost and complexity of BCRs, they are not a suitable transfer tool for most Irish companies.

    The only remaining questions for Irish firms transferring data to the UK concern adequacy. Certain ‘third countries’, such as Japan, have received what is known as an ‘adequacy decision’ from the European Commission. This allows a cross-border personal data transfer from the EU to that country because it has been determined to have an adequate level of data protection safeguards compared to the EU. It could take some time before the European Commission completes its negotiations with the UK Government in order to deem the UK adequate as a jurisdiction to which data can be transferred under GDPR. Therefore, companies need to explore the options available to them when transferring data to the UK.

    Irish companies banking United States

    How to manage US banking, employees and legal fees

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    Two challenges that Irish companies sometimes experience when preparing to export to the United States for the first time involve banking and employment. The following pointers will help you to prepare.

    Download the full Going Global USA: Learn your Legals guide now.

    All US banks require an Employer Identification Number (EIN) confirmation letter, also known as Form SS4, before opening a business account in your company’s name.

     

    How to apply for an Employer Identification Number

    You can apply for an EIN online on the Internal Revenue Services website, if you already have a US social security number (SSN), or an individual taxpayer identification number (ITIN).

    If you don’t have an SSN, you can apply for an EIN from the IRS by fax or have a lawyer act as a ‘third-party designee’ to prepare and process an EIN application on your behalf.

     

    If you have an EIN

    Some banks will accept a copy of a fax from the IRS assigning your business entity with an EIN. Others will need to see the EIN verification letter sent by the IRS, which can take weeks to arrive.

    Most banks will also require a copy of the company’s formation documents – US business address and annual statement of officers and directors.

    To comply with mandatory anti-money laundering legislation, US banks need to verify the identity of those opening business accounts under Know Your Customer (KYC) rules. There are several ways the requirement can be met:

    • Get a visitor visa to travel to the US and personally open an account at your bank of choice
    • Use third-party services to help you set up an account
    • Some banks will set up an account without the relevant corporate officer being in the United States. If acting on a referral from a legal representative, the process can be completed via email.

     

    Employment considerations

    Irish companies should carefully plan their approach to hiring personnel in the US as there are a number of potential pitfalls to be aware of. For example, if you hire someone as a consultant or independent contractor, it could later be determined that they are actually an employee under US law. Improper classification risks exposing a company to penalties and liabilities, including the withholding of taxes, benefits, and the possibility of being sued by the employee.

    Laws governing US employment and benefits are complicated, which makes it vital for potential exporters to seek the advice of legal professionals.

    As US benefits packages vary widely and differ significantly from those in Ireland, companies should seek advice on what employees in specific roles are likely to expect when considering a job offer.

     

    Legal costs

    For small companies using a lawyer or legal service provider for help with company formation and setting up, fixed fee packages in the range US$3,000 to US$5,000 are available. Packages usually include general counsel, registration fees, and the creation of incorporation, confidentiality agreements and stock issuance.

    In general, you can expect to pay additional fees for operating and shareholder agreements, as they can be highly complex. While legal assistance with IP transfers can also be costly due to complexity, many Irish companies keep IP rights within the Irish parent, with the US entity established as a servicing company.

     

    Access more insights on doing business in the US.

    Digital Health icon

    Data is the road to digital health

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    Drive on any major road in Ireland and sooner or later you will pass a sign bearing the mark of the EU flag. Such signs mark Europe’s commitment to helping Ireland build a world-class road infrastructure.

    As the turn of the millennium saw the fulfilment of road projects deliver people and goods around the country, a new strategic infrastructure is now underway to deliver what is arguably the single most market-disrupting change to how we work, live and do business – the movement of data.

    Data, once housed in paper files or offline digital silos contained within organisations, now has the power to connect as never before and, with the advent of General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR), there is a protocol that enables for the first time the free, and safe, movement of data throughout Europe.

    For businesses, the implications are too important to ignore. The figures are truly astonishing and show the transformative nature of the growth of big data. It is estimated by the Dutch Datacenter Association that 90% of the world’s data was created in just the last two years alone. The total addressable market for the digital economy could be worth in the region of €415 billion a year, according to European Commission forecasts.

     

    Data is central to digital health

    It is no less than utterly transformative, and one of the biggest areas to see massive change is healthcare and patient data. Connected devices, wearables and the Internet of Things, together with cloud computing and pooled data is putting patients at the centre of their healthcare journey.

    “Ten years ago, digital health in those days was an option,” says Brian O’Connor, chair of the Irish-based European Connected Health Alliance (ECHA). “Today digital health is a must. The world has moved on tremendously in the past five years and we need to embrace this revolution.”

    This revolution, says O’Connor, is redefining how states interact with citizens and their personal data, not least in health. Consumers regularly hand over personal and financial details and there appears to be a growing acceptance for doing so with confidential medical data, he says.

     

    Countries leading by example

    He cites Estonia, which fully embraced digital citizenship and eHealth after 95% of the populace said they approved of digitised medical information. “The only thing you cannot do online in Estonia is get married or divorced,” says O’Connor. “Getting your blood results, booking a GP appointment or seeing which consultant at which hospital is available can all be done by citizens online. It’s as simple as booking a cinema ticket.”

    But the power of joined-up connected data sharing becomes apparent when O’Connor explains that it works across national borders, most notably with Finland. Many Finns commute to Estonia and their digital records move with them, allowing them to see their GP in their home country but pick up the prescription at work in Estonia.

    Similar cross-border data-sharing is already underway on the island of Ireland. Ambulance crews on both sides of the border are able to pick-up a patient and check out bed space and resources in hospitals either side of the border before transfer, with benefits for both patient and healthcare provider.

     

    Ireland’s journey to a digital health system

    Just over two years ago, Ireland unveiled the first national electronic patient chart for maternity anywhere in the world with the birth of daughter Emily to Ellen Shine and Aidan Cotter at Cork University Hospital. The scheme is now being rolled out nationally.

    It is in an early stage but Health Minister Simon Harris called it the first step in a ‘national journey’ towards a digital health system. The Government has committed to implementing its vision of a digital health system, as outlined in its 2017 Slaintecare strategy and, much like the road infrastructure, Ireland has availed of a €225 million loan from the European Investment Bank to aid some of the implementation, while the State itself has earmarked some €85 million for 2019 for eHealth, €100 million for 2020 rising to €120 million by 2021.

    “The EU funded bridges, roads and tunnels in the last century. Now it is funding infrastructure for the free movement of data,” adds O’Connor.

    One of the key planks for this medical data sharing is the approval within the last six months of a European Patient Summary Record, a digital record that stores standard information

    “Ireland is in the lead in my opinion in this area. The ECHA has linked that digital maternity programme with other countries such as Netherlands, Finland, Spain, Estonia, France and Denmark. There is huge interest in our system.”

    Now there exists a real opportunity for the private sector to introduce its innovation into the HSE and beyond, says O’Connor.

     

    Sourcing innovative solutions

    Enterprise Ireland has also been supporting the ecosystem at its grass roots.

    “We have to acknowledge the role of Enterprise Ireland here,” adds O’Connor. “It is working directly with the HSE to find out their needs in relation to Slaintecare. Then they work closely to introduce indigenous Irish companies who might have a solution.”

    This builds on work by ECHA, which also reaches out to healthcare providers across its 78 member countries to link innovative eHealth products and solutions to clinical teams that need a solution.

    Introducing innovation and enterprise into the supply chain is exactly where we want to be, added O’Connor.

    The knock-on effect, he says, is that the healthcare procurement process is vastly improved as it builds in previously unknown innovation, innovation which may never have crossed the desk in any other event.

    It remains to be seen if a GP waiting room or a hospital cloud server will carry the ubiquitous EU flag sign but one thing is certain, data infrastructure is as important for this century as roads were to the last.

     

    Learn more about the innovation supports available from Enterprise Ireland.