Information Communications and Technology

Ireland has been very successful in attracting overseas investment in ICT. Five of the top ten ICT companies in the world have substantial operations here. Today this sector of over 220 companies employs nearly 40,000 people.
Many of the worlds leading ICT companies have Irish operations that have expanded to take advantage of Ireland’s unique set of competitive advantages. Functions such as shared services, supply chain management, technical support, software development and R&D are increasingly included in the range of operations carried out by ICT companies in Ireland.

Highlights 2007

VMware opened an EMEA Technical Support Centre in Cork
Microsoft announced a €360 million EMEA Data Centre
Novell established an EMEA TeleWeb Operation in Dublin
IBM chose Cork and Galway for new software development labs
Solar Winds established its European HQ in Cork.
Celestica expanded its Galway operation
Sanmina-SCI, committed €30 million to the transformation of its Fermoy facility.

Software Development

Ireland has a reputation as Europe’s premier location for software development. Since the 1980s, most leading US software vendors, including Microsoft and Oracle have based their European operations centres in and around Dublin. Internet companies including Google, Amazon and eBay all have substantial operations here.

The indigenous industry is characterised by a large number of relatively small firms with a strong product focus and a strong export orientation.

The Irish software industry spans a wide range of market segments due to the broad base of companies in the sector. It has particular strengths in systems software and middleware; insurance and banking applications; telecommunications software; e-learning; and healthcare.

There is a mature development effort in the area of object-oriented middleware. This, in turn, has facilitated the emergence of a large pool of developers with J2EE skills as well as significant development activity in web services. Microsoft has singled out the Irish developer base for special attention and is forging partnerships with leading Irish firms to foster adoption of its .Net platform.

In the financial services sphere, Irish companies are marketing a wide range of products, including component-based banking applications, multi-channel banking systems, next-generation customer relationship management systems, automated foreign exchange trading platforms and line-of-business applications for the insurance industry.

The telecommunications segment has an even broader base of companies, with products addressing areas such as convergent mediation, rating, service assurance, network management and mobile payments.

E-learning has long been an area of strength within Ireland, which has given birth to several world leaders.

Source: IDA Ireland