Two Irish Companies First In World To Achieve Level 2 Certification In W-Mark

Published 18th October 2005

Askcomreg.ie And EagleStarLife.ie Both Honoured At Gala Awards Night...

Dublin, Ireland, Tuesday, 18 October 2005 - AskComreg.ie and EagleStarLife.ie were publicly honoured at the EIQA (Excellence Ireland Quality Awards) annual Gala Awards Ceremony where they received Level 2 Certification for the W-Mark. These two companies are the first to receive this strict accreditation across the world. There were in total fifty entries for this level of certification.

ComReg Commissioner, Mike Byrne said: "ComReg is delighted to receive this award for our consumer website askcomreg.ie. ComReg is committed to ensuring consumers are fully informed about the range of communication choices available. We will continue to develop new strategies to ensure Irish consumers remained informed about developments within the telecommunications and postal sectors."

According to Dermot Browne, Sales & Marketing and IT Director for Eagle Star Life "Eagle Star Life is delighted to achieve the W-Mark Level 2 accreditation. We strive to set new standards within our industry. And this accreditation reflects our position as market leader in providing a first class online service to both clients and independent advisors."

Five other Irish companies were also presented with Level One Certification of the W-Mark from the EIQA. This website certification award signifies that the company websites meets the highest global standards through a battery of rigorous tests. The W-Mark programme is a comprehensive website audit which covers both corporate governance, legal, technical and services issues.

The companies: Food Safety Authority, BUPA Ireland, Friends First, Jobs Group UK and the Ulster bank, were all presented with their certificates by Dr Chris Brendon from the International Academy of Quality who had flown in from Australia especially to present the W-Mark Website Excellence Award Category at the annual EIQA gala awards ceremony. Dr Brendon also accepted the W-Mark award on behalf of the Philharmonic Orchestra in Australia.

The Global Website Certification initiative - The W-Mark - is an independent standards programme that evaluates and audits published websites to globally recognised standards. The W-Mark was developed by Irish based EIQA in conjunction with eCSB (e-Commerce Standards Board).

Anne Marie Fallon, Director of the W-Mark Global Partners Board, commented: "Ultimately, the W-Mark offers a range of benefits including market differentiation, increased customer trust and visible competitive advantage," she says. "These benefits are only possible by the fact that the W-Mark is independently certified and approved. Companies throughout the globe are using the certification tool to assist them with the monitoring and evaluation of their web development team, both internal and external. The surveillance contract within the W-Mark programme, which automatically checks for issues every quarter and alerts the company immediately, ensures the consistency of the website with changes or up-dates and also ensure the integrity of the W-Mark programme as a customer Trust Mark

"Customer trust is the key ingredient for conducting successful business over the Internet. A well designed website represents an opportunity to attract customers and the first impression is vital for the development of customer trust. Enterprises and organisations that excel in inviting customers into their businesses through website excellence will grow their business and develop a brand value faster than their competitors."

"The benefits are not only available locally but also globally which is reflected in the comprehensive and confidential report provided to each company under review," Fallon says.

All companies within the programme have access to an internal pool of best practice through the W-Mark Global website.






About W-Mark
The Global Website Certification initiative - The W-Mark - is an independent standards programme that evaluates and audits published websites to globally recognised standards. The W-Mark was developed in conjunction with eCSB (e-Commerce Standards Board). The website certification programme is a comprehensive website audit which covers both corporate governance, legal, technical and services issues.

The W-Mark Global Approvals Board recognises commitment to excellence and has designed a three level approach, based on a comprehensive scoring system and guidelines, which are designed to cater for challenging entry-level websites up to best practice.

The W-Mark global partners holds an annual global awards ceremony to recognise companies who have achieved recognition at each level and provide the globally recognised W-Mark-approved website 'committed to excellence' symbol to display proudly on the audited website.

The W-Mark audit is very comprehensive and involves over 100 different tests across the following six criteria: Accessibility, Commitment to Customer Service, Consistency & Appearance, Data and Information Security Management, Navigation, Privacy Compliance Management


For more information, please visit http://www.W-Mark.com


Or contact
Anne Marie Fallon EIQA 01 6604100
Jillian Godsil PRG 055 294 55