Zamano plc was an Internet and mobile technology company based in Dublin. The company decided in February 2017 to bring their premium rate SMS business lines to a close by the end of 2017. In September 2017 it was reported that the company, following a management buy-out, is considering investing in oil and gas exploration companies.
Business structure
The IPO coincided with further acquisitions for the company including Red Circle Technologies.
In 2011 Zamano announced investment in a new entity called Newsworthie. This entity was focused on providing a solution for companies to use their online content to increase their revenues and a solution for companies seeking to promote their products in a contextualised manner. However, investment in Newsworthie was ended in October 2011 with outgoing CEO John O'Shea announcing that "As our investment capacity is limited, we intend focusing it entirely on opportunities related to our mobile expertise, and have suspended further investment in Newsworthie." CEO John O'Shea departed the company in November 2011 and was replaced by interim CEO Pat Landy in a temporary role. In April 2015, Zamano, signed a deal with Three mobile to allow the company’s technology to be used as a conduit by e-commerce providers.
Awards/nominations
Zamano appeared in the Deloitte Technology Fast 50 from 2006–9. This followed from coming 2nd in the Rising Star Category in 2005. Deloitte Technology Fast 50
2006 5th
2007 2nd
2008 2nd
2009 9th
In 2004, Zamano won the award for Best Wireless Content at the O2 DMI Awards. Zamano was also nominated for an Annual Global Mobile Award, in the Best Mobile Internet Application category for its TxT Manager.
Service launches
In 2001, Zamano provided the application for Europe's first live 3G network,based on the Isle of Man. In 2011, TCM announced a partnership with Zamano to power SMS alerts on. This was followed by an agreement with Setanta Sports to provide mobile video of every Premier League goal scored within minutes of it happening. In 2011, Zamano announced a new structure with the company divided into Zamano Solutions, Everneo, and Newsworthie. In November 2013, Zamano launched Message Hero, an online business SMS service available to customers in Ireland and the UK
Controversy
In February 2010, Zamano was fined £35,000 by PhonePayPlus for breaching its terms and conditions in relation to unsolicited reverse-charge premium rate SMS messages. In May 2009, Red Circle were also fined £15,000 by PhonePayPlus in relation to unsolicited reverse-charge premium rate SMS messages. In March 2012, Zamano was fined a further £50,000 by PhonePayPlus for breaching its terms and conditions in relation to unsolicited reverse-charge premium rate SMS messages. Between May 2012 and September 2013 Zamano received 587 complaints from consumers in relation to a competition service, "Play2Win". Consumers stated that they had received unsolicited, reverse-billed text messages and that they had not engaged with the service, or acknowledged engaging with the service but stated that they believed it was free. A Phonepayplus tribunal found that Zamano breached the Fairness and Misleading aspects of its code. Given repeated breaches of the code by Zamano, the tribunal imposed an increased fine of £40,000
Charity
The company has also been linked to a number of charity services launching the Childline HelpText Service in 2006. The company worked with the Jack and Jill Foundation, supporting the charity's text appeal in 2011.
Acquisitions and new business
In 2002 Zamano partnered with RTÉ Interactive to launch a wireless SMS-based game called Showdown. Earlier that year the group had already released a number of games on the O2 mobile network. Later in 2002 Zamano acquired Avoca's interactive SMS business. This gave the company a stronger presence in the UK market as it provided 10 premium rate SMS short codes covering four UK mobile networks. In 2007, Zamano completed the acquisitions of Red Circle Technologies and Eirborne followed up by a video-messaging partnership with social networking siteBebo. In 2011, Everneo launched some social media initiatives with its partner WWE. By August they were reporting over 10,000 fans on the Facebook page launched earlier that year.
