A round-up of today's other stories in brief.

O2 launches SIM card back-up

Mobile operator O2 has launched a SIM card back-up service for customers which works through its website and allows account holders to retrieve key contacts and numbers if they lose or damage their mobile phone.

The service costs €2 for the first 250 contacts and €0.50 for each additional back-up.

Outsourcing spend to rise

Spending on outsourcing of business processes and technology by Irish companies is set to rise this year with 30 per cent growth bringing the total spend to €450 million according to analysts iReach. They believe the anticipated slowdown in the economy and the need for businesses to closely manage costs will boost investment in outsourcing.

Closing date for web fund

The closing date for applications for Eircom's €100,000 Web Innovation Fund is next Friday, February 15th. Four companies or individuals will share the fund which will enable then to develop a web application that could be deployed on Eircom's portal. Full details are at www.eircom.net/innovation

Vodafone gets trade platform

Vodafone has commissioned web trading firm gsmExchange.com to develop a trading platform to purchase and distribute its phones.

The platform will allow different Vodafone companies to source or trade handsets that may be in short supply or may be in overstock. gsmExchange.com has its headquarters at NovaUCD.

Fujitsu in £34m deal with PSNI

Fujitsu has won an initial £34 million (€45.5 million) contract to consolidate the technology infrastructure of the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI). The IT services company will operate a 24/7 on site support desk as well as provide maintenance and service of 8,000 - 10,000 PCs and laptops for the PSNI.

The contract could be worth up to £100 million over the next eight years.