- Deadline for applications Friday, 25^th May 2012 -

A final call is being made to all Irish small businesses to apply for the IE Domain Registry’s (IEDR’s) OPTIMISE e-commerce and website development fund offering €10,000 worth of support services to ten small business owners nationwide.

Open to owners of Irish SMEs and micro-businesses with a .ie website, the OPTIMISE Fund will provide ten recipients with €10,000 worth of consultation, training and e-commerce development support services to begin the process of optimising their existing online presence. Central to this will be an upgrade in terms of e-commerce capability and functionality, for example through the incorporation of real-time payments, an online catalogue, order processing or booking facilities, etc.

The OPTIMISE Fund was established in 2011 to mark the tenth anniversary of IEDR and raise awareness of the extent to which small businesses in Ireland remain slow to harness the revenue potential of the Internet. IEDR’s Domain Name Industry Report revealed that only 66% of Irish businesses had a website by 2009, compared with 40% in 2000. Of the 66%, only 21% had any e-commerce capability, a marginal increase of just 3% since 2000.

Further details and the online application form are available at www.why.ie/optimise. The closing date for applications is 25^th May 2012.  The ten recipients will be selected by a judging panel independent of IEDR comprising industry and business leaders, with the final recipients announced later this year.

Urging Irish companies to apply for the scheme, Mr. David Curtin, Chief Executive of the IE Domain Registry, said: ‘We established OPTIMISE to help small business owners transform their online presence and make the most of the 24 hour sales channel that is the internet. Our research has shown that the internet presents a hugely untapped market for Irish businesses and companies are missing out on lucrative sales opportunities. With the help of OPTIMISE last year’s recipients transformed their businesses and are now reaping the benefits of being able to generate sales 24/7 to a global marketplace. Therefore I encourage any qualifying small businesses to apply for this fund by Friday, 25^th May.’

- 10 SMEs to get €10,000 of e-commerce consultancy services to upgrade their websites -

The IE Domain Registry (IEDR), the managed registry for Ireland’s official Internet address .ie, today announced it will extend its €100,000 e-commerce website development fund, called OPTIMISE, for the second year running. Launched by the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation, Richard Bruton, T.D., the OPTIMISE Fund was established in 2011 to mark the tenth anniversary of IEDR and raise awareness of the extent to which small businesses in Ireland remain slow to harness the revenue potential of the Internet.

Open to owners of Irish SMEs and micro-businesses with a .ie website, the OPTIMISE Fund will provide ten recipients with €10,000 worth of consultation, training and e-commerce development support services to begin the process of “optimising” their existing online presence. Central to this will be an upgrade in terms of e-commerce capability and functionality, for example through the incorporation of real-time payments, an online catalogue, order processing or booking facilities, etc.

IEDR’s Domain Name Industry Report revealed that only 66% of Irish businesses had a website by 2009, compared with 40% in 2000. Of the 66%, only 21% had any e-commerce capability, a marginal increase of just 3% since 2000. Since the Domain Name Industry Report was published (November 2010), a major study* revealed increasing consumer confidence and activity online, with Irish shoppers spending almost €3 billion on ecommerce websites. A further study** valued online spendingby Irish consumers At Christmas time alone at €356 million.  Given the number of high profile global online retailers, it would appear that many purchases are made from these UK and US based websites in the absence of an Irish option online.

IEDR’s OPTIMISE Fund is open to applications from any organisation classified as an SME or micro-enterprise, which has an existing website hosted online that is accessible to the public and registered with a .ie domain name. Further details and online application forms are available at www.why.ie/optimise. The closing date for applications is 25^th May 2012.  The ten recipients will be selected by a judging panel independent of IEDR comprising industry and business leaders, with the final recipients announced later this year.

Last year’s OPTIMISE recipients included the Dublin based fashion label, www.kateandava.ie, who developed an online catalogue and new social media strategies to drive customers to their website, while the National Leprechaun Museum www.leprechaunmuseum.ie worked to develop an e-commerce strategy including an online shop to facilitate ticket sales. Kart racing circuit Whiteriver Park’s www.whiteriver.ie revamped website benefited from a new online booking engine to accept advance payments for track time and gift vouchers.

Launching IEDR’s OPTIMISE Fund, Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation, Richard Bruton, T.D., said: “A key part of the Government’s strategy for jobs and growth is to encourage businesses to adopt innovative business practices to help them survive and grow in these difficult times. Developing an online presence and getting involved in e-commerce are crucial ways in which small businesses can adapt and find new markets, but to date in Ireland we have not made the progress on this that we might have.

“Today’s announcement is a great example of business helping business to innovate and grow by establishing a presence online and taking advantage of the opportunities offered by e-commerce, and I congratulate IEDR on extending this fund for a second year. Through the Action Plan for Jobs, the Government through the CEBs will play our part to ensure that more Irish businesses can sell online, survive, expand, and create the jobs we need”.

Announcing IEDR’s OPTIMISE fund for a second year, Mr. David Curtin, Chief Executive of the IE Domain Registry, said: “With OPTIMISE, the IEDR is delighted to be able to support ten small business owners in Ireland by helping them transform their online presence using real e-commerce technologies. Ireland already has a reputation for excellence online with one of the world’s safest, most trusted domain names in .ie. With customers increasingly looking to transact online, the Internet presents a hugely untapped market for Irish businesses. IEDR is committed to helping the small business community realise the long term value of having a website which is fully ecommerce enabled in order to take full advantage of the web’s 24 hour sales and marketing channel. It’s why IEDR established OPTIMISE and we hope that it will encourage many more businesses online and inspire other initiatives of this kind in the future.”

* Research conducted by iReach for Visa Europe in May 2011.

** Research conducted by iReach for Visa Europe in 2010 using online surveys with a representative sample of 1,000 people over the age of 18 across Ireland.

17^th April 2012: The IE Domain Registry (IEDR), the managed registry for Ireland’s official internet address .ie, today reported that new .ie domain registrations for the first three months of the year totalled 9,398. Registrations grew steadily each month at 3,053, 3,184 and 3,161 for January, February and March respectively. The figure for Q1 represents a 12.2% increase on new registrations recorded in the previous quarter (Q4 2011), which totalled 8,694.

The figures indicate steady demand from Irish micro-businesses and sole traders for a .ie domain name. The total number of .ie domains now stands at 177,720. In the first quarter of the year, IEDR reached another milestone with the registration of Ireland’s 175,000^th .ie domain. The registrant was www.teaemporium.ie, the website of Camilla’s Tea Emporium based on Eyre Square in Galway city. The company, owned by Modestas Ramanauskas and established in 2005 specialises in selling a wide range of fine teas and coffees from around the world to customers and trade.

Mr. David Curtin, Chief Executive of the IE Domain Registry, said “We’re really pleased with the growth in .ie domain registration figures in the first three months of the year. I’m delighted to see that Irish businesses are continuing to make .ie, which is one of the world’s safest and most respected domain names, part of their brand and online identity. The New Year can be a tough time for small business owners in particular, so it’s really encouraging to see that many of the new registrations came from sole traders, some of them just starting out.”

Congratulating Camilla’s Tea Emporium, David Curtin added; “We’re proud to have reached another milestone in IEDR’s twelve year history with the registration of Ireland’s 175,000^th .ie domain. I’d like to congratulate the 175,000^th .ie registrant TeaEmporium.ie and wish them continued success with the growth of their online business, which already benefits from a great website and an established presence in the heart of Galway.”

Modestas Ramanauskas from Camilla’s Tea Emporium said; “We registered a .ie domain for our website TeaEmporium.ie so that people would know we are an Irish business and find us easily online. It was important for us that customers would associate our website with the business we’ve worked to establish on Eyre Square in Galway. With TeaEmporium.ie, the website name and .ie extension has really helped us to achieve our objective of giving customers a secure online shop from which to buy and transact with us, wherever in the world they are.”

The IE Domain Registry were delighted to be a partner of the 2012 Young Scientist Awards which were held last week in The RDS, Dublin. Now in their 48^th year the awards have consistently grown and this year were attended by over 40,000 people over the three days. Mark Kelly and Eric Doyle from Synge Street CBS, Dublin, claimed the top award with their research based on a famous mathematical problem that also included a way to help keep satellites more closely on their expected path.

The winners of the IEDR Special Award in Social and Behavioural Sciences were Lisa Maher and Alison Garry from St. John Bosco Community College. Their project, entitled ‘ The Dark Side of Social Media and Privacy,’ provided valuable insight and research into this area. The IEDR would like to congratulate all of the winners and contestants in the Young Scientists Awards. Other notable winners included:

COMREG SPECIAL AWARD
Technology — Intermediate: James O'Connell, Cian Reid, Sean Nicholson, Library book locator, St Michaels College.

HEANET SPECIAL AWARD
Technology — Junior: Matija Milenovic, Shane Gonley, Group idea sharing and developing website, Athlone Community College.

IEDR CEO David Curtin Presents the IEDR Special Award to Lisa Maher and Alison Garry from St. John Bosco Community College.

- Number of .ie registrations at end 2011 was 173,145 -

The IE Domain Registry (IEDR), the managed registry for Ireland’s official internet address .ie, today reported its registration statistics for 2011 which show continued growth for Ireland’s top level internet domain. Overall the total number of .ie domains grew by 12.9% net in 2011 to 173,145 at year end.

In line with trends experienced in previous years, registration levels were stronger in the first six months of 2011 with 20,995 registrations recorded between January and June, and 18,403 registrations in the second half of the year. Therefore, new registrations for the first half of 2011 were up by 9.9% on the same period in the previous year while the second six month period experienced growth of 5.2% year-on-year. For 2011 overall, registrations were 7.7% higher than the previous corresponding twelve month period.

During the year the IEDR reached a major milestone when over 4,000 (4,061) domains were registered in a single month. This coincided with the IEDR’s launch of OPTIMISE - an initiative which the IEDR established, as part of its tenth anniversary, to raise awareness of companies not fully exploiting the potential of online sales - and gave each of ten SMEs €10,000 of support, to provide greater e-commerce functionality to their websites.

The IEDR is pleased that its Registrar community and other Irish internet stakeholders have helped spread the message of the untapped potential of internet sales following the publication of its Domain Industry Report which found that only two thirds of Irish businesses had websites and that of those 66% only 21% had e-commerce capability. The collective effort of information campaigns and promotions has contributed to increased registrations. The IEDR believes that more work needs to be done by Irish SMEs and policy-makers to fully harness the potential for online sales. IEDR will roll out further initiatives in 2012 to both raise awareness and provide dedicated support to Irish SMEs as part of its commitment to managing Ireland’s top level domain in the interests of the Irish internet community.

As not every domain is needed indefinitely, the non-renewal of domains is common to all registries. It most frequently arises when there is no longer a requirement for a domain name that was once registered for a specific purpose or event, typically for public information campaigns, product launches and non-recurring events. The current non-renewal rate stands at 12.8%, an improvement on the 14% level recorded for 2010. This resulted in 19,726 net additional .ie domains for 2011, a 12.6% increase on the previous year, once non-renewals had been accounted for.

Commenting on the .ie domain registration figures for 2011, Mr David Curtin, Chief Executive, IE Domain Registry (IEDR) said; “We are pleased to report continued strong .ie registration rates which have been achieved against the backdrop of very challenging times for Irish business. Much credit is due to our Registrar community for their collective efforts in supporting the growth of Ireland’s top level domain which remains the domain of choice for those registering websites in the Irish market.

While growth of the .ie domain continues there is still significant untapped potential in the market for Irish businesses - to establish and grow their e-business through online sales and for those currently with an online portal, to further exploit the benefits of what is a 24/7 sales channel without borders. The IEDR will, as part of its commitment to managing Ireland’s top level domain in the interests of the Irish internet community, continue to play its part in providing a leadership role in both raising awareness of this important issue and running targeted initiatives to support Irish SMEs reach their online potential.”

The IEDR’s Annual Report will be published later this year once audited financial statements are made available.

Professor John O. Scanlan, Chairman of the IE Domain Registry was awarded one of Ireland’s highest academic honours on Friday, 16^th December. The Minister for Education and Skills, Mr Ruairi Quinn, TD, presented the Royal Irish Academy Gold Medal to Professor John O. Scanlan in recognition of his outstanding contributions to the Engineering Sciences. The Royal Irish Academy Gold Medals acclaim Ireland’s foremost contributors to the world of learning and science. The Gold Medals are awarded to two outstanding academics each year and are recognised as a truly national expression of celebration for scholarly achievement. Professor William Schabas was also awarded for his contribution to the Social Sciences. The medals are sponsored by The Higher Education Authority and The Irish Independent.

In presenting the Medals Minister Quinn said the Academy Gold Medals acclaim Ireland’s foremost contributors to the world of learning and science.

Professor Scanlan (UCD) is widely recognised as one of the leading international living circuit theorists who has made a fundamental contribution to the field of electronic engineering, including electronic circuit and system design, digital circuits and computing, communications and signal processing. Professor Scanlan has many awards and distinctions, including being a life fellow of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) and a recipient of the Golden Jubilee Medal of the IEEE Circuits and Systems Society.

The IE Domain Registry were delighted to be a partner of the 2011 Junior Spider Awards which were held this week in The Helix, DCU.

The Junior Spider Awards were established in 2009 as a parallel programme to the main Spider Awards for students at primary and post primary school level. The Awards strive to acknowledge the innovation amongst web creators in schools. They also provide a platform for teachers/students to further develop their technology skills in web design. It is hoped that the Junior Spiders will encourage the use of the Internet to teach subjects on the curriculum while also acting as a catalyst for those students who wish to pursue a career in this sector by providing access to influential business executives.

The 2011 Junior Spiders Award winners and shortlisted entries displayed many outstanding achievements in online and digital media and the engagement and creativity of the students behind the projects was worthy of merit. The IEDR would like to congratulate all of the winners and everybody who took part in the Awards. The 2011 winners are listed below.

MEGA SPIDERS (PRIMARY SCHOOLS)

BEST PROJECT

MR MITCHELL’S CLASS BLOG, SCOIL URSULA, SLIGO

BEST SCHOOL BLOG

DAN’S 5^TH CLASS BLOG, BALBRIGGAN EDUCATE TOGETHER, DUBLIN

BEST SCHOOL WEBSITE

GALWAY EDUCATE TOGETHER WEBSITE, GALWAY

GIGA SPIDERS (1ST – 3RD YEAR)

BEST PROJECT

JET STREAM F1 IN SCHOOLS TEAM, PRESENTATION COLLEGE CARLOW

BEST WEB DESIGN

CLONGOWES WEBSITE, CLONGOEWS WOOD COLLEGE, KILDARE

SUIOMH IS FEARR

PAISEAN LE HAGHAIDH FAISEAN, LAUREL HILL SECONDARY SCHOOL, LIMERICK

TERA SPIDERS (4TH – 6TH YEAR)

BEST CONCEPT

BROWSER FACTS, DUNDALK GRAMMAR SCHOOL, LOUTH

BEST PROJECT

ST WOLSTANS TY, ST WOLSTANTS COMMUNITY SCHOOL, KILDARE

BEST WEB APP

QUICK REVISE, CBS KILKENNY

BEST WEB DESIGN

MICHAEL O’NEILL DESIGN, DUNDALK GRAMMAR SCHOOL, LOUTH

SUIOMH IS FEARR

MISE EIRE, THE HIGH SCHOOL RATHGAR, DUBLIN

MEGA GRAND PRIX

DAN’S 5^TH CLASS BLOG, BALBRIGGAN EDUCATE TOGETHER, DUBLIN

GIGA GRAND PRIX

JET STREAM F1 IN SCHOOLS TEAM, PRESENTATION COLLEGE CARLOW

TERA GRAND PRIX

MICHAEL O’NEILL DESIGN, DUNDALK GRAMMAR SCHOOL, LOUTH

ICT CHAMPION

AINE O’ LOUGHLIN, OUR LADY OF MERCY PRIMARY, SLIGO 

Now in their 16^th year the awards not only reward Irish businesses and community organisations but also recognise individuals for their creativity and innovation. The Spiders provide an important opportunity to showcase online excellence and are considered a noteworthy measure of distinction and merit in web-based business strategies.

Speaking after the awards IEDR CEO David Curtin noted “The IE Domain Registry is delighted to continue a corporate partnership with the Spiders and Junior Spider Awards. For 16 years, the standards of the shortlisted websites and companies has increased consistently, reflecting the impressive levels of innovation, creativity and originality that exist within the Irish Internet community. It was also fantastic to see such a large number of .ie domains amongst the award winners. These websites demonstrate the possibilities and opportunities provided by the Internet for Irish businesses and individuals”.

The award winners were:

Best Financial Services Website – bonkers.ie

Best Travel, Tourism & Hospitality – Killarneyonamap.ie

Best Community & Charity Website – Nationalgallery.ie

Best Retail Excellence – thecorkscrew.ie

Best e-business Website (exclusive web business) – boardsdeals.ie

Best Campaign – ogilvyinteractive.ie

Best News Website – thejournal.ie

Best Education Website – coursehub.ie

Best Web Design & Development Agency – kooba.ie

Best Entertainment Website – tv3.ie/3player

Best Sports Website –oneescape.ie

Best Listings Website – Prosperity.ie

Big Mouth (People’s Choice) – rukkle.com

Community (People’s Choice) – runireland.com

The Graduate – Liam Carey (bandpages.ie)

Best Digital Editor – thejournal.ie

Best Mobile App – National Irish Bank, Smartphone Banking Application

One To Watch – Pigsty.ie

Internet Hero – Ray Nolan

Grand Prix - thejournal.ie

- Total number of .ie domains now stands at 170,000 -

The IE Domain Registry (IEDR), the managed registry for Ireland’s official Internet address .ie, today reported that registrations for Ireland’s top level domain reached their highest ever total in a three month period for the third quarter ending September, 2011. 10,029 .ie domains were registered in Quarter 3 2011 a 12.7% increase on the same period in 2010, and the total registration figure for each of July, August and September was the highest on record for each month.

The renewal rate increased to 87% and consequently the net increase in the database was 5,059 for quarter three, a 32% increase on the same period in 2010 (3,842 domains).

The IEDR’s Quarterly Registrations Report shows that the total number of .ie domains now stands at 170,000, with a total of 31,024 new .ie domains registered in the nine month period since January 2011. This figure represents a 10.8% increase on the 27,994 domains that were registered in the same period in 2010.

The IEDR’s quarterly registrations report also reveals steady demand from Irish sole traders and limited companies, that together continue to account for over 80% of new registrants for the .ie namespace.

Commenting on the .ie registration figures for the year to date, Mr. David Curtin, Chief Executive of the IE Domain Registry, said: “It’s encouraging to see that the third quarter of 2011 has continued to show strong growth in .ie domain registrations, building on the already impressive figures from earlier in the year. The IEDR continues to invest in the right technology to maintain the safety, security and resilience of the .ie domain infrastructure, while the ongoing efforts of our Registrars have contributed significantly to the promotion of the .ie namespace. Choosing a .ie domain allows start-ups, SMEs and micro-enterprises an established and trusted route to market for their goods and services. A fully transactional website can be put in place for a fraction of the cost of the annual rent of a high street retail unit - yet a website shop front can be seen by potential customers anywhere in the world. Our investment in this vital platform for Irish e-commerce also continues and we remain committed to maintaining the integrity, affordability and resilience of the .ie domain.”

On growth potential for .ie, Mr. Curtin added: “Many SMEs have still not exploited their full potential by having a website and using it to grow their business. When the IEDR studied the extent of Irish business’ presence online last year we were surprised to learn that only two thirds of Irish businesses have a web presence and just 21 per cent of these had any kind of e-commerce functionality. This means that there are considerable online sales opportunities that Irish businesses are missing out on. We were pleased to play a role in raising awareness about this issue by launching the €100,000 OPTIMSE fund which is currently helping ten companies to improve their web presence and harness their full potential. As more Irish enterprises go online either as web-based ventures or to complement their existing businesses I am confident that they will continue to choose .ie as their domain of choice.”