Connected

Fresh off striking a big deal with Mastercard, Kealan Lennon of CleverCards joins Emmet Ryan on the big show to talk about how he went from the virtual greetings business to payments, his dislike of the word pivot, and what's next for CleverCards.

Russell Keating of Samsung came on the big show to talk about a hectic start to 2021 as the phone maker brought out its S line of phones and related products a month earlier than usual in 2021. In addition to taking us through what's different with this year's S21 range, Keating told Emmet Ryan about what consumers are demanding more of from all of their devices now and what it means for manufacturers as well as the small matter of 5G ramping up over the next year.

Michael Conway of Renaissance and John Molloy of Zyalin join Emmet Ryan on Connected to talk about the challenges of ensuring a secure working environment at home and how to make it easy. Molloy is best known for his work with iKydz and he has taken inspiration from that to make managing a remote workplace as simple as plug and play. Conway and Molloy share plenty of insights over the show including how to make remote work secure beyond the pandemic.

Don Stack, founder of Optical Rooms, joins Emmet Ryan to talk about the Vivior eye test monitor his business is distributing which is designed to work out how you need to adjust everything from lighting to your glasses in managing a home working environment. Stack's story is one of the wilder ones of lockdown, managing his Irish based business from Madrid while we all get used to a new way of doing our jobs.

Donál Óg McCarthy, managing director of cloud at Accenture, joins Emmet Ryan to talk about his company's new report, Secure Cloud. McCarthy shares his thoughts on the challenges businesses face in securing a return on investment in cloud infrastructure and how to best ensure your cloud set-up is secure.

Jason Ward, vice president and general manager of Dell Technologies Ireland, is our first guest of the year and he joins Emmet Ryan to share his company's big tech predictions for the year to come. From 5G through remote working and a lot more, Ward breaks down the trends he believes will make a difference to your life in 2021.

Connected closes 2020 with a look back at the tech trends that defined the last 12 months in the eyes of our team. Connected writers Róisín Kiberd and Jason Walsh join Emmet Ryan along with a first on show appearance by Jack O'Kennedy, our long suffering producer, to discuss the key topics that mattered to them over the year.

Alison Campbell joins Emmet Ryan on the big show to talk about her role as director of Knowledge Transfer Ireland (KTI). Campbell helped start the government backed organisation which brings academia and industry together to advance collaborative projects. Campbell highlights some really interesting projects KTI was involved in recently along with this year's KTI awards as well as explaining what drew her to the role in the first place.

We're allowed out again but even with social distancing, it's not easy for bar and restaurant staff. Enter Banba, a new way for ordering to your table. Cormac O'Riordan, chief executive of Banba, joins Emmet Ryan to explain how this app got started and why plans for it predate the pandemic.

Fenergo's chief revenue officer Paul Kavanagh joins Emmet Ryan on the big show to discuss, among other things, what exactly a chief revenue officer does. Kavanagh talks about growing a multinational power from Ireland and where he sees opportunities for the business along with what it has been like taking up the role during the pandemic.

Tommy Kearns, chief executive and co-founder of multichannel engagement business Xtremepush joins Emmet Ryan on the latest episode of Connected. In addition to explaining what a multichannel engagement business does, Kearns talks about his business being named in Gartner's Magic Quadrant along with talking about the work involved in growing a tech company without external investment and his growth plans.

Eimear O'Carroll and Rhona Togher first met when they were 15 and have been working together for 12 years. Their partnership through Restored Hearing brought them on a journey initially focused on aiding tinnitus to developing space age acoustic technology in the rebranded Lios. Togher and O'Carroll join Emmet Ryan to discuss their journey on building technology for space, getting a business up and running, adventures in the BT Young Scientists and Technology Exhibition, and keeping a co-working community going through Covid-19 times.

Emmet Ryan is joined by Microsoft's Dr Frank O'Donnell and John Ward of EY to discuss the research the duo led into making artificial intelligence help the public sector. Ward and O'Donnell talk about the surprisingly high appetite within the sector for AI and how to make the most of it along with what's needed in order to make the potential of the technology a reality in government services.

Alan Branagh has seen so much in tech. Through Marconi, IBM, and, most notably, Beenz, he was at the heart of some of the biggest tech stories for good and bad at the tail end of the 20th century. The second half of his career has seen him guide businesses through their own challenges, leaning on what he learned along the way. Branagh joined Emmet Ryan to talk about the wild road.

It's rare to have royalty on the show but Amy Marks of Autodesk, the Queen of Prefab, graced Connected with her presence all the way from New Jersey in the US. Marks explains the role prefabrication is playing increasingly in construction, how the technology has evolved considerably in recent decades, and how Ireland can be a leader in the field particularly when it comes to healthcare.

Apple launched four new smartphones on Tuesday, the iPhone 12, iPhone 12 Mini, iPhone 12 Pro, and the iPhone 12 Pro Max. Ian Guider, markets editor with the Business Post, joins Emmet Ryan to look at what these phones have to offer and whether they will be hits for both Apple and 5G carriers.

Paul Higgins, Virgin Media's vice president of commercial, joins Emmet Ryan to talk about how his company has adapted through the Covid-19 crisis, the increased and changing demand for content from consumers, and the new Virgin Media 360 service.

With Three Ireland launching its new 5G network today, Emmet Ryan caught up with David Hennessy, its chief technology officer, to talk about what the network will mean for customers across the island. The duo discuss the challenge of rolling out a new network through the pandemic, the availability of 5G for Three's customers, and what 5G will mean for the end user.

Kelly Becker is country president of Schneider Electric in Ireland and she joins Emmet Ryan to talk about everything her business is doing throughout the unique times we are dealing with this year. Originally from New Orleans, Becker now calls Ireland home and has got to know the way business is done here and what is required to make a team succeed in this environment.

After a Covid-19 induced hiatus, the Connected podcast is back to discuss all the major happenings in the tech world. Joining us on this journey for our first episode since the pandemic began is Kenneth Arthur, the chief commercial officer at VisionID. The business has created a social distancing and contact tracing solution for Irish businesses. Kenneth talks about that along with how his business is adapting to Covid-19 times.

Connected is back with two great guests and veterans of the IT industry. Michael Conway has been running Renaissance for over 30 years while Dave Feenan is the network manager for Technology Ireland/ICT Skills. The duo join Emmet Ryan on the Connected podcast to talk about the hot topics to pay attention to in cyber security and how you can best protect yourself, all ahead of Cyber Expo Ireland and Cyber Con Ireland on 26 November.

Eric Finn is Ireland's third best player of FIFA games while Josh Juliano was the only Irish player to make the finals of the Fortnite World Cup, where he finished 58th. These two talented gamers joined Emmet Ryan on the big show to talk about life as a top level player and the small matter of balancing it with school.

After raising €1.6 million in July, Buymie chief executive and co-founder Devan Hughes joins Emmet Ryan on the big show. Hughes has quite the start-up story, with Buymie going through the growing pains and runway issues that so many founders can relate to. Now, with a partnership with Lidl and significant growth in the online grocery sector globally, he tells Connected why this is the time for Buymie to strike it big and make a push into continental Europe.

Richard Barnwell, chief executive and founder of Digit Games, joins Emmet Ryan on the big show to talk about an Irish grown success story in the games business. The Dublin-based studio developed the wildly successful mobile game Star Trek Fleet Command and Barnwell's business was recently acquired by industry giant Scopely. Barnwell talks about the challenge of pleasing gamers and Star Trek fans, the work involved in building a game in this day and age, how Ireland is seeing a boom on the creative side of gaming, and what's next for Digit. Connected is produced and edited by Jack O'Kennedy which we're including in the text here because Emmet forgot to mention it during the interview. Live long and prosper.

Barry O’Sullivan of BBDO joins the big show to talk about a truly fascinating campaign he put together that ended up being amongst the rare Irish creations to get nominated for a Webby award, the internet’s version of the Oscars. O’Sullivan and his team put together a virtual reality experience to make people see through the eyes of a drunk driver. O’Sullivan talks to Emmet Ryan about the concept behind the campaign, the technical challenges, and how IT is changing the thinking within the advertising industry.

Cassie Delaney of Tall Tales podcasts joins Emmet Ryan on the big show to talk about making a business out of talking. Running her own podcast network out of Dublin and producing commercial podcasts for big brands, Delaney talks about what goes into making a show work and how she finds topics that resonate with people and companies alike. It’s a deep dive into the work behind podcasting that you won’t want to miss.

Aoife Mulqueen of Vodafone Ireland joins Emmet Ryan on the big show to talk about how companies need to think broader about how they hire and retain staff. From unconscious bias through diversity and inclusion, she has plenty to say about how doing the right thing for potential hires is going to help your business save time and money while enabling growth.

In the latest Connected Podcast, Emmet Ryan talks to Enterprise Ireland’s senior vice-president of digital technologies, Máire Walsh. She is impressed with the amount of talent and technology coming out of Ireland, but says some Irish companies could improve their marketing, especially when they are trying to break into the US market.

The big show is back as Connected gets a pharma buzz going in its latest episode. Emmet Ryan is joined by Andy Dundon of GSK to talk about all things around the pharmaceutical industry and technology. Andy is a fascinating guest as he has to take on one of the tougher challenges when it comes to explaining what he does. The importance of tech in pharma is easy for anyone to get, knowing what it involves and how it is evolving the industry is another matter entirely. On this episode he breaks everything down brilliantly in what is a really informative episode of the big show.

The big show returns from its long slumber and we're joined by the OG of European Young Scientist winners Grace O'Connor, who took the first title all the way back in 1989. O'Connor joins Emmet Ryan to discuss the EU Competition for Young Scientists coming to Dublin in September and why she still cares about the contest nearly three decades after winning. O'Connor, who now runs her own pharmacy chain, talks about how she still cares about her original project, what she learns from the youngsters taking part in the competition these days, plus why she wants you to rock up to the RDS to see all the projects in mid-September.

Google's Marie Davis joins the big show to talk about the challenges for SMEs looking to get bigger online. Davis talks to Emmet Ryan about the opportunities and supports out there for Irish businesses, how the market is changing, and a whole lot more.

Ryan Burke, senior vice president international with InVision joins Emmet Ryan on the big show to discuss all things design. With experience and aesthetic playing a bigger role than ever in the tech space, Burke offers fascinating insights as to how designers are branching out and shaping the way we live.

In a special edition of the Connected podcast, Emmet Ryan is joined by Jason Walsh and Quinton O'Reilly to discuss the issues raised in the March edition of Connected's cover story on privacy and connectivity. From the health impact to improving links with relatives overseas, the gang runs the gamut across the issues including privacy concerns, security risks, and keeping an eye on just how many gizmos we are using to stay connected.

We're talking all things blockchain this week as Wachsman Ireland managing director Emma Walker joins Emmet Ryan on the big show. From the growth of cryptocurrencies to the role of blockchain beyond that, Walker gives her insights from working with a wealth of businesses across this space. We also hear about Walker's route to her current role and what it's like leading the global expansion of a young business while still in her mid 20s.

It's time for the annual big sexy Valentine's day edition of Connected. Emmet Ryan is joined by Shawna Scott of Sex Siopa and Connected regular Róisín Kiberd to look at how technology is impacting our personal lives. This extended edition of Connected sees the gang discuss the messages from the Black Mirror episode Hang the DJ, the way the internet is making love into a commodity, how people use online dating apps, sex robots, and a whole lot more. Whether you are in love or not even bothered looking, it's a packed show with plenty to intrigue the Cult of Connected. Enjoy.

Garvan Callan, director of strategy, digital, and innovation at Bank of Ireland joins Emmet Ryan in studio to discuss what his job actually is, business transformation, reinventing your business, start-ups, and what's coming down the tracks. The episode also features some festive references because we recorded it before Christmas. Ah, timing. Enjoy a jam packed edition of Connected.

Prof Brian Fitzgerald on future software catastrophes