Enterprise Galway company’s app puts them on the crest of a wave

The creators of Element Wave, NUI Galway graduates Dorothy Creaven of Clare and James Harkin of Galway, are riding crest of a wave, having recently scooped top prize in the Small Firms Awards.

Leaving aside the technological jargon, Element Wave software, like the best innovations, is simple.

Mobile phone apps are used by a multitude of businesses to connect with their customers but the problem with them is users lose interest in them and stop using them.

Ms Creaven explained that it costs companies between $1 and $5 (US Dollars) to get people to download apps onto their mobile phones.

The apps allow businesses to market and advertise their wares but also make direct sales – so if someone has downloaded you app, you want to make sure they keep using it.

The problem with apps is interest in them wanes – it’s a crowded market – and research shows that after three months, 80% of people will stop using apps, explains Ms Creaven.

That’s where Element Wave technology comes in.

Using a type of push-notification – where messages pop up to the user through the app, like a text message – businesses are able to communicate directly with their customers who have downloaded the app.

The GAA is among the company’s clients – football and hurling fans who attended Croke Park for the various All-Ireland finals over the past month experienced first-hand the technology.

Several thousand supporters in the vicinity of Croke Park – and who had downloaded the GAA app – were sent ‘welcome to Croke Park’ messages through the app.

Another one of its clients is a bus company in Spain. The bus company’s clients download the app so they can go in and check if their bus is on time – this Element Wave technology allows the bus company to message the user directly to inform them if the bus is on time or delay etcetera.

Another aspect of Element Wave is analytics and it allows companies to track the app usage of the mobile phone users. So, for example, it can track what time most users are online and tailor the messages accordingly.

“For example, Starbucks can use it to announce a deal at a certain store. They can send out notification of a special offer of a free doughnut with every coffee to everyone who has downloaded the app within a certain area,” she says.

For more, read this week's Connacht Tribune.