IE Domain Registry Annual Report 2019

IE Domain Registry  Annual Report & Review  2019 27 Business and Market Review Other industry events the Company supported include The Spider Awards 30 year celebration; the All Ireland Business Summit; the Retail Excellence Retreat; the Hardware Show; Digital DNA, and the DLR Digital Transformation Summit. Pictured at the 2019 awards are (L-R): David Curtin, CEO, IE Domain Registry and winners of the Emerging New Business category, Diarmuid McSweeney, Gym+Coffee; Sharon Keegan, Peachy Lean; Finn Killeen, Zarrdia; Rachel O’Donnell, The UX Studio; Hannah Wrixon, Get the Shifts. Additionally, we continued to build and strengthen relationships with key SME and micro-enterprise representative bodies such as the Local Enterprise Offices, ISME and the Small Firms Association. By working with these groups, we engage with their networks to promote the benefits of e-commerce. This applies especially on a website with a .ie address, which “tells the global community that you are Irish and tells the Irish community that you are local”. A range of content was produced, including e-books, to help SMEs in their online journey. OPTIMISE – The e-commerce website development fund Our research into Irish SMEs’ and micro enterprises’ online presence and e-commerce capabilities found that the vast majority of companies are not fully utilising the internet or online sales opportunities. Some of the key issues facing Irish SMEs and micro enterprises are a lack of resources and a lack of knowledge about using digital tools to help grow their business. In response, we set up OPTIMISE – the e-commerce Website Development Fund in 2011. The Fund was created to provide Irish SMEs and micro enterprises with professional consultation, practical training and e-commerce tools and development services. To date, OPTIMISE has worked shoulder-to-shoulder with more than 200 companies to enable them to make greater use of existing web technologies and e-commerce enabled websites to grow their existing business via the internet. In 2019, IE Domain Registry continued the very successful partnership approach with sectoral organisations, including Retail Excellence, the Design & Crafts Council Ireland (DCCI), the Society of Chartered Surveyors Ireland (SCSI) and the Royal Institute of the Architects of Ireland (RIAI). This enabled selected member companies to improve their online presence, hone their digital capabilities and grow their global e-commerce sales. Each participating business received a comprehensive digital health check by an expert digital marketing agency, commissioned by IE Domain Registry, with company- specific recommendations, before taking part in a series of mentoring days and masterclasses. A review meeting with each participant monitored changes implemented as well as their progress moving forward. Engaging sectoral organisations has proved highly effective, as these bodies have a deep understanding of the needs of their members. For more information on OPTIMISE please visit www.iedr.ie/optimise . Pictured are (L-R): Brian McGee, Market Development Director DCCI; Mary Whelan, Marketing Director, Irish Linen House; Oonagh McCutcheon, Corporate Communications Manager, IE Domain Registry; Greg Whelan, CEO and Designer, Irish Linen House.