LOCATION, LOCATION, Location

IRELAND IS AN ISLAND AT THE CENTRE OF THE WORLD. CONSIDER THAT STATEMENT FOR A MOMENT AND IT MIGHT SOUND LIKE HUBRIS. LOOK AT THE ROSTER OF THE WORLD’S TOP TECHNOLOGY COMPANIES THAT HAVE A SCALED BASE IN IRELAND HOWEVER, AND ONE CAN SEE HOW THE COUNTRY CAN CLAIM TO BE ONE OF THE WORLD’S FOREMOST TECHNOLOGY LOCATIONS.

BY DÓNAL TRAVERS

Some of Ireland’s longest established technology investors, like IBM and Ericsson for example, both with a presence in Ireland for over 60 years, continue to locate some of their most current and strategic initiatives in Ireland, such as AI, cloud and 5G development. To look at how Ireland has remained as a leading location for the world’s foremost technology locations, picking up the story in the 1980s is a good place to start.

Early 1980s Ireland might not have been the most exciting destination. What the country did have though was a young, rapidly growing, and really well-educated population, many of whom emigrated to find a job and build a career outside Ireland. It was this talent base that persuaded companies like Apple and Dell EMC to initially locate assembly type operations in Ireland, and when Microsoft and Intel arrived in 1985 and 1989 respectively, Ireland had become a location that any company looking at international expansion just had to consider.

Fast forward to today and Ireland has ridden several technology waves, from the original thin client era, through the advance of the personal computer and back full circle to the era that is now dominated by the cloud. The one constant in all of this has been the staying power of the world’s leading tech brands in Ireland.

Intel, which IDA Ireland courted for several years before it finally decided to invest in its first wafer fab outside North America in 1989, recently announced its next wave of manufacturing investment in Ireland, at the 7 nanometer technology node, taking its total investment in Ireland to date to $22 billion, over a 32-year period.

Microsoft has relied on Ireland for over 35 years to run its international operations. It recently announced the addition of critical cloud workflow and identity engineering activities, as well as the growth of its EMEA digital sales organisation. It too has been a serial investor in cloud computing assets, with its Azure platform firmly rooted in Dublin.

The story is not just about Dublin though. Ericsson, in Ireland since the late 1950s, depends on its site in Athlone, in Ireland’s Midlands, for the development and maintenance of its critical OSS architecture. Working in partnership with the local Athlone Institute of Technology for the development of bespoke talent, the site is one of the largest employers of java software skills in Ireland.

And as the world of enterprise technology has evolved to a subscription model, SAP, Microsoft and Oracle have used their Irish operations to support their move to Software as a Service (SaaS), building teams here to support technology transformation, critical infrastructure and site reliability, and digital sales. Those companies that were born in the cloud, like Salesforce, Workday, ServiceNow and more recently Diligent, use Ireland to scale international centres for engineering, sales, support and global business services.

Why has Ireland remained such a consistently short-listed location when the world’s leading companies are considering their next international expansion? The answer is multifaceted, and while factors such as the country’s strategic position between North America and Europe, its young English speaking workforce, Eurozone membership and consistent government enterprise policies are all important, the ability of companies to find the right talent, quickly and at scale, trumps everything else.

Another factor has emerged over the last 10 to 15 years that denotes the transition of Ireland to a mature tech base that combines the best of domestic innovation, funding from public and private sources, a rich research environment, and the world’s best-known companies. IDA Ireland’s sister agency, Enterprise Ireland, which is responsible for the support and international growth of Irish companies, is now Europe’s largest seed investor, based on the number of investments it makes. This has led to a rich environment with a deep talent pool where Irish companies are emerging in key technology domains.

“Fast forward to today and Ireland has ridden several technology waves, from the original thin client era, through the advance of the personal computer and back full circle to the era that is now dominated by the cloud.”

This means that Ireland now supports in excess of 2,000 start-ups across all major technology domains. In the last year, companies like Manna (last-mile drone delivery), Evervault (data encryption) and Soapbox Labs (Voice AI) are just three examples of innovative Irish companies that have raised funding rounds. In addition to partnering with Irish tech, overseas companies are active acquirers, including in recent years, Apple, Google, Verizon, Facebook, Bloomberg, IBM, Genesys, Workday and just this year, Qorvo, which acquired Decawave to support the development of its ultra-wideband capability with applications across a range of consumer and industrial applications.

So, while other countries can also claim to have great incentives, well-developed sources of funding, competitive taxation policies, world-leading tech brands, great talent and even good weather, Ireland brings something else that no other country can lay claim to. Through the experience of working with the world’s top technology companies, IDA consistently hears about the fail-safe ability to launch and drive strategic global initiatives that require resourcefulness, agility, innovation and a can-do attitude that ensures success. And now, as we enter a new and somewhat uncertain era in a post-Covid and post-Brexit environment, that reliability and predictability will be more valuable than ever.

This new era brings additional challenges as companies seek to navigate increased sustainability requirements and new hybrid office environments. IDA’s clients are navigating those challenges in a supportive and collaborative way in Ireland. These are the ingredients that will ensure that Ireland will remain an island at the centre of the world.