The App Planet at Mobile World Congress (http://www.mobileworldcongress.com/appplanet) is ‘the Centre of the Apps Universe’. The GSMA has invited Vennetics to demonstrate the new Moozler Apps as part of App Planet. The Moozler smart phone, tablet and laptops Apps are available today and can be freely downloaded from http://www.moozlerlite.com or as iPhone and iPad Apps from the Apple AppStore.

The Moozler Smart Phone, Tablet and Laptop Apps

The Moozler Apps offer a range of innovative new voice, messaging and media features for mobile users and the mobile carriers who are offering this Vennetics technology today are planning some novel marketing strategies. Specifically, the Olympics and the Euro 2012 soccer championships will demand huge audiences during the coming summer. The Moozler Apps will be used by mobile operators in advance of the events to attract people interested in these international competitions to their networks.

The MoozlerLite iPad App in iTunes

Kieran Dalton, Chairman of Vennetics said, “It is very encouraging for the team at Vennetics to be invited by the GSMA to the App Planet. We are looking forward to demonstrating towards the mobile industry the really great App concepts that we have developed for 2012.”.

Since the J-Box Apps provided by Vennetics are based on industry standards such as the GSMA OneAPI specifications, they can be deployed onto devices that are connected to any mobile network. As such, Smart Phone Apps offered by H3G can be downloaded by any Irish smart phone user, even if they subscribe to a mobile network other than H3G. Specifically, users on other networks can download a free App to associate a second line with their smart phone, including a new phone number and billing account provided by H3G. Tariff plans can then be offered by H3G in order to provide feature and value based incentives for users on other networks to make calls against their H3G account.

Irish Celebrity Andrea Roche Advertises the New H3G Landline App

While the J-Box Server is deployed in the H3G core network, J-Box Apps can then extend the service footprint of the H3G network capabilities onto laptops, tablets and smart phones, irrespective of which networks those devices are connected to. In this manner, H3G can greatly expand the addressable market for novel new service offerings by spreading the revenue catchment area of the H3G brand to every mobile user in the Irish market. Furthermore, the J-Box products can also be used by mobile operators to broaden the reach of these innovative new services towards emerging new AppStores, such as WAC.

Screenshot of the H3G Website Advertising the New Landline App

Eoin MacManus, Commercial Director at H3G Ireland said, “The Landline App gives H3G a significant advantage over our competitors in the SME market. This simple, easy to use service will mean businesses can now have all the benefits of a fixed line number with the flexibility of mobile communications at exceptional value. We are delighted to bring this innovative product to the market and look forward to working with current and potential business customers to offer them some of the best value business communications solutions in Ireland.”

Screenshot of iTunes Advertising the New Landline App from H3G

Kieran Dalton, Chairman of Vennetics said, “I’m delighted that we have been able to bring another service based on the GSMA OneAPI specifications to market. I believe that Vennetics has added some unique innovations around these network enablers to offer mobile operators unparalleled business intelligence about their target markets. This in fact is the key differentiator of the J-Box technologies. While our products provide some exciting new Apps that users really enjoy, the value for mobile operators is in how J-Box drives improved customer acquisition by targeting well defined user profiles. We will look forward to expanding the presence of our App portfolio from the Apple AppStore to WAC, Android Market and other such environments.”.

Vennetics has completed a move to The Business Centre within The Blackthorn Business Park in Dundalk, Ireland. The original buildings that comprise The Blackthorn Business Park were constructed by the British Army before Irish independence, as a stables for the cavalry. The recent conversion of these buildings to office accommodation, includes fibre optic connections and all of the other facilities required by technology companies.

Christopher McGreal and Jimmy Magee from the J-Box Engineering Team at the new Vennetics offices.

Kieran Dalton, Chairman of Vennetics said, “After bringing our J-Box products to market in the first quarter of 2011, we have been delighted to win our first carrier deployments of the technology. As a result of this early sales success and closing a recent funding round, it is exciting to see the company move beyond pure product development and into a growth phase, to support live network platforms. I’m confident that all of the software development staff at Vennetics will enjoy working within the modern and contemporary infrastructure provided at The Blackthorn Business Park.”

The investment will be used primarily to grow the headcount within the support and engineering functions within the company.

Kieran Dalton, Chairman of Vennetics

Kieran Dalton, Chairman of Vennetics said, “The continued support and investment from Enterprise Ireland is very welcome and important for the company and it’s continued growth. Their assistance in securing significant new private capital, places Vennetics in a strong position to execute against our expansion plans.”

Anna-Marie Turley, Senior Development Advisor at Enterprise Ireland remarked that “Enterprise Ireland has worked closely with Vennetics since they were formed in 2007. The development of the business from an initial concept to a carrier grade platform that is being licensed by large mobile networks, is a long process. Their strong focus on innovation has proved to be the strength of their technology. The private capital raised by Vennetics will move the organization on to the next level and we look forward to working with the company as their business grows internationally.”

As part of the exclusive event at Áras an Uachtaráin, President Mary McAleese described the InterTrade Ireland Business Ambassadors as ‘Champions of the future and leaders of change.’

President Mary McAleese and Senator Martin McAleese Congratulate Ivan McShane

Mr. Richard Bruton TD, Minister for Enterprise and Innovation commented, “Government does not create jobs, people and businesses do; and the role of government is to create an environment in which those businesses can prosper. I am determined to do everything I can to reduce costs, improve access to finance and encourage innovation so that good businesses can expand and create the jobs that our economy and society so badly need. If there is one thing Ireland – north and south – does not lack it is enterprising, creative, hardworking people, and I look forward to working with them to discuss what government and small business together can do to get people back to work”.

Also speaking at the event, InterTradeIreland Chairman Dr David Dobbin said: “We have supported companies right across Ireland, in every county and constituency and we are extremely proud of the examples of enterprise and innovation that are represented by our group of InterTradeIreland Business Ambassadors. We hope that through highlighting the achievements of successful local SMEs, we will inspire other businesses to take advantage of trade opportunities.”

This innovative new service is based on an implementation of the new Voice Call Control interface within version 2 of the GSMA OneAPI specifications. Blueface has deployed the Vennetics J-Box Feature Server against the Blueface voice network and billing platform so that iPhone users can download the Banter App and create a new pre paid account directly from their handset.  Banter can then both create new GSM calls from the iPhone at the great Internet telephony rates offered by Blueface and also allow users to see their pre paid balance in real time to understand the savings they are making.

Blueface Promote the New Banter iPhone App

The Banter App is provided as a service that is independent of the mobile network that the iPhone is connected to. That is, Blueface is providing the Banter service to users of other networks. This kind of ‘Cuckoo Service’ will be increasingly important in mobile markets where both devices and access networks are becoming ever more fragmented. Many users already have multiple connected devices, such as smart phones, laptops, netbooks and tablets. These devices may variously be attached to WiFi, DSL, HSPA and GSM access networks from several different providers. Consequently, in order to provide services that remain relevant across the entire connected life of their users, network operators must deliver innovative service logic onto devices that are attached to other service provider networks.

Alan Foy, Chief Executive Officer at Blueface said, “The ubiquitous nature of online application stores like the Apple AppStore and Android Market is changing how our customers acquire new services. Blueface is determined to remain distinctive as the most innovative network operator in our market and the Banter service will keep us in the lead as the service provider for smart phone users. I think that the technical teams within Blueface and Vennetics have done a great job on realising the Banter service and I’m confident that our users will love it.”

Kieran Dalton, Chairman of Vennetics said, “I’m delighted that we have been able to bring our second service based on the GSMA OneAPI specifications to market, so quickly after the successful launch of Moozler. The Blueface network already supports a range of very advanced Internet telephony capabilities and it is very exciting to see how the Vennetics J-Box technology can compliment these features. The functional scope of the GSMA OneAPI specifications has been expanded significantly with the recent release of version 2 and I think that following Banter, the evolution of this technology will see many more novel new applications launched using J-Box in the near future.”

The EirText applications currently provide access to free WebTexts from all six Irish mobile operators and cheap bulk messaging services from twenty three other SMS providers. As novel new features are added to the applications on a regular basis, the requirement to support interfaces from multiple mobile operators and SMS providers increases overheads significantly and inhibits innovation.

As the Vennetics J-Box products are being deployed by multiple network operators in Ireland, the GSMA OneAPI enablers can address both of these issues. Firstly, a single standard interface to many networks liberates developers from porting headaches and secondly, the rich functional implementation provided by the Vennetics products allows for greater innovation. As such, network operators will benefit significantly from the Vennetics technology and application developers like App Sandwich can use the J-Box products to stay at the top of Apple’s lists of “all time” most popular iPhone and iPad applications in Ireland.

The EirText App within the Mac AppStore

Kieran Dalton, Chairman of Vennetics said, “It is fantastic to see the Vennetics implementation of the GSMA OneAPI enablers receiving this kind of support from the application development community. App Sandwich has been hugely successful in retaining EirText as one of the most popular applications in the Irish AppStore for several years now. As Vennetics deploys the J-Box products in more mobile networks, I’m confident that the consistent levels of innovation that have been demonstrated by App Sandwich will become even more evident into the future.”

The All Time Most Popular Irish iOS Apps

Vincent Coyne, Founder of App Sandwich said, “I’m delighted that an enabler like the GSMA OneAPI is now starting to gain some traction within the mobile operator community. Supporting multiple network operator interfaces has been a particular pain point for a successful application like EirText. From partnering with Vennetics though, we can access the same J-Box platform technology across several networks. This will not only allow us to address the problem of fragmented interfaces but it will also introduce new capabilities for us to build on, such as account creation and pre paid billing features.”

Moozler is being deployed by mobile operators in a manner that is independent of the access network that various devices may be connected to, such as HSPA, WiFi, GSM or DSL. Many individual users already have multiple connected devices, which may at times be attached to access networks from several different providers. Consequently, in order to provide services that remain relevant across the entire connected life of their users, network operators must deliver innovative service logic onto devices that are attached to other service provider networks. This kind of ‘Cuckoo Service’ will be increasingly important in mobile markets where both devices and access networks are becoming ever more fragmented.

Kieran Dalton, Chairman of Vennetics said, “I’m delighted that the engineering team involved with the Moozler application have been recognised with this prestigious award.  The functional scope of the GSMA OneAPI specifications has been expanded significantly with the recent release of version 2 and I think that following Moozler, the evolution of this technology will see many more novel new applications launched using J-Box in the near future.”

Now in its second year, the Irish Times InterTradeIreland All-Island Innovation Awards aim to recognise and promote the best service, product or operational innovations throughout the island. Over 120 companies entered the seven categories of the competition. Twenty one of these were then shortlisted for the awards by a judging panel, before the final winners were selected.

Liam Nellis, CEO InterTrade Ireland, with John Hamill and Ivan McShane from Vennetics

Commenting on the awards, Liam Nellis, Chief Executive of InterTradeIreland and Chair of the Innovation Awards final judging panel said “Despite the economic situation, we have been extremely encouraged by the level and diversity of innovations represented by our finalists and winners. Not only do they have strong ideas and innovative processes, but crucially, they are market-led and market-focused. I’m delighted that these awards have managed to achieve exactly what they set out to do, which is to showcase the best examples of innovation on the island.”

The final judging panel for the event included Colm Long, Facebook, Liam Nellis InterTradeIreland, Peter Callan, The Irish Times Group, Michael Carey, Jacob Fruitfield Food Group, Tim Cody, Accenture, Ivan Coulter, Sigmoid Pharma and Deirde Terrins, Crescent Capital.

Liam Kavanagh, Managing Director of the Irish Times added, “We sometimes get caught up in the finer points of policies and strategies at a national level without appreciating the people who are putting all the fine words into practice. That’s what this event tonight – and indeed our monthly Innovation magazine – is all about.”

The J-Box product provides a compelling user interface offering a range of engaging telephony and media features, including a distinctive new VoIP and messaging service designed to increase market share and ARPU.

According to Michael O’ Hara, Chief Marketing Officer at the GSMA stated that “App Planet is an ‘event within an event’ at Mobile World Congress 2010 that will present a unique opportunity to explore the many dimensions of the dynamic and critically important mobile applications market. By pulling all the key players together in one place at one time, we will make App Planet the new Centre of the Apps Universe for the four days of Mobile World Congress.”

Ivan McShane, Technical Director at Vennetics, attending MWC App Planet

Ivan McShane, Technical Director at Vennetics said “We’re delighted to be taking part in the App Planet event at this years Mobile World Congress. The GSMA have selected what they deem to be the brightest and best that the mobile software industry has to offer and we’re proud to have been selected amongst them.”

The project that Vennetics and Instil Software are jointly bringing to market is called Moozler. Moozler takes the best parts from the VoIP world and combines them with best aspects of the mobile world. The result is our ground breaking client for smart phaones, tablets and laptops.

Ivan McShane, Engineering Director at Vennetics said, “With any PC based solution, the factor that is most important in determining the success or otherwise of the system is the user experience. Vennetics has been developing advanced Voice over IP Server technology for mobile operators for some time now but irrespective of how many innovative capabilities we support, if the experience on the PC screen of the end user is not compelling then the solution will not be used. We had looked for some time to find a partner in this area and were delighted when InterTrade Ireland were able to introduce us to Instil through their business networking activities. We are now working together to ensure that when we do launch Moozler in Q1 2010 that it will be simple, intuitive and fun to use.”

Liam Nellis, CEO InterTrade Ireland

InterTradeIreland Chief Executive Liam Nellis said: “Innova helps companies to work together to develop new products with demonstrable commercial potential and bring them to market faster than if they were working alone. Vennetics and Instill were technically, commercially and financially assessed by a team of experts and the competition is tough. Both companies should be very proud of their achievement of making it on to the Innova programme and we look forward to releasing a further €7.6m later this year for other projects that make the grade. Indeed, we are currently taking expressions of interest from more companies looking to undertake cross-border R&D.”