Ireland’s Technology Sector
Ireland’s Foreign Direct Investment Agency
SUMMER / AUTUMN 2014
25 Years of Intel in Ireland
IRELAND AS A PREMIER LOCATION FOR TECHNOLOGY INVESTMENT
‘Best Country for Business’ - this is how Forbes
recently rated the Irish business environment,
which is currently experiencing very high levels of
investments from global technology corporations.
Investments include:
 Intel’s recent $5 billion spend at its Irish fab.
 Microsoft’s €170 million data centre expansion,
As Intel celebrates 25 years in Ireland,
Renée James, Intel’s Global President
(pictured above), in March spoke of the
company’s recent $5 billion campus
upgrade in Leixlip.
Intel, in Ireland since 1989, employs 4,500
people in advanced manufacturing, R&D
and software development.
Google establishes 1st European
Digital Innovation Centre in Dublin
bringing its total investment to €594 million.
 Ericsson: 120 additional R&D positions.
 SAP: 260 new roles (R&D/technology support).
Leo Clancy, Executive VP,
ICT Division, IDA Ireland
 PayPal: 400 new positions (including customer solutions/telesales).
Over the coming months, many other investments will be announced,
underlining the confidence that global corporations have in Ireland to
successfully serve their business and market development needs. There are
many reasons why companies choose Ireland including increasing talent
availability, cost competitiveness, 12.5% corporation tax rate, technology
infrastructure and the country’s track record of support for investors.
We are very grateful to our clients for their continued investments and are
always delighted to speak to companies, considering new functions in EMEA or
growth in key corporate functions, about the “Ireland advantage”.
OUTLOOK POSITIVE FOR IRELAND’S TECH SKILLS SUPPLY
Irish Prime Minister Enda Kenny (pictured
above) at the opening in September 2013
of Google’s €5.5 million Digital Innovation
Centre, which marked Google’s 10 year
anniversary in Ireland.
In November 2013, the Higher Education Authority (HEA) published its forecasts
on tech graduate output to 2018 (Table 1). In summary, the outlook is very
positive with the HEA projecting primary degree computing, software and
electronic engineering graduate output increases of approximately 70%-110%.
Table 1: (Forecasted) Increase in Graduate Tech Output 2008-2018
2008 VS. 2013
(% CHANGE)
2013 VS. 2018
(% CHANGE)
Primary Degree Honours Computing
(Level 8)
+82
+69
Masters Computing (Level 9)
+63
+50
Primary Degree Honours Electronic
Engineering (Level 8)
+50
+106
Masters Degree
Electronic Engineering (Level 9)
+64
+164
Google employs at its EMEA HQ over 2,500
people in multilingual advertising sales,
customer support, finance, engineering
and data hosting. Dublin is Google’s largest
office outside of the US and employs
people from over 65 countries.
DEGREE
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
HEAD OFFICE - IDA Ireland
Wilton Park House, Wilton Place, Dublin 2
Tel: +353 1 603 4000
Email: [email protected]
Website: www.idaireland.com
Twitter: @IDAIRELAND
www.youtube.com/investireland
www.linkedin.com/company/ida-Ireland
(Source: HEA November 2013)
Actual output however, particularly in 2018, is expected to be appreciably
higher due to the publication in February of the Government’s ‘National ICT
Skills Strategy and Plan’, which introduces measures aimed at significantly
Ireland: #1 globally for
skilled labour
(IMD World Competitiveness Yearbook 2014)
Ireland: #1 globally for
worker flexibility/adaptability
(IMD World Competitiveness Yearbook 2014)
Corporate
Ireland
exceeding the HEA forecasts. For example,
the measures include a special provision to
increase by about 45% the annual number of
university/institute of technology places to
be made available annually for mainstream
undergraduate
honours
degree
tech
students (Level 8).
This new provision will be underpinned by a
national promotion campaign encouraging
primary and secondary level students to choose computing, software and
electronic engineering as a career choice. Upskilling courses will continue to be
used to increase graduate output.
The national skills plan is a partnership between the private and the public
sectors and intends building on the 2012 National ICT Skills Plan and earlier
activities, which have appreciably increased the supply of computing, software
and electronic engineering graduate talent since 2008 (Table 1).
Tax
 12.5% corporate
tax rate
 Extensive double tax treaty network (70
countries)
 An EU approved, stable tax system, which
is open and transparent
 An attractive holding company regime
 25% R&D tax credit
 Tax relief for key R&D employees
 Tax relief for foreign staff assigned to
work in Ireland (SARP)
Tax Commitment / Predictability:
“The tax rate is settled policy. We are
100% committed to the 12.5% corporation
tax rate. This will not change.” (Minister
for Finance, Michael Noonan, October
2013)
“The very predictability of Ireland’s
regime adds to its appeal; companies have
no reason to fear that taxes will suddenly
shoot up.” (The Economist, February 2014)
c.50% of 25-34 year-olds hold a
3rd level qualification in Ireland
compared to OECD avg of 38%
(OECD 2013)
The calibre of student has also been enhanced, underpinned by larger numbers
taking higher level maths in their final leaving certificate exam; for example,
between 2011 and 2013 there was a 59% increase in the numbers taking higher
level maths and this is expected to increase further in 2014 (c.+15% on 2013).
Highly Skilled & Experienced Overseas Talent
Higher graduate output going forward will be complemented with an enhanced
focus on attracting from abroad greater numbers of highly skilled and
experienced computing, software and electronic engineering personnel.
A more streamlined and efficient approach to processing employment permits
is also being introduced, involving an eForm and fast-track mechanism for preregistered employers. The new measures will complement the provision in 2013
to increase by 50% the annual number of technology employment permits to be
made available to companies.
Ireland - Leading the Way in Skills Availability
In May 2014, a global survey was completed by recruitment agent Manpower on
talent shortages. In the survey, Ireland was recognised as the global leader in
the availability of skills and the least difficult location to fill talent (Figure 1).
Figure 1: Difficulty Filling Jobs by Country (%)
WHO IS INVESTING...
Ireland: #1 in Europe for
investor protection
(World Bank, Doing Business Report 2014)
25 Years of EMC in Ireland
In 2013, EMC announced the creation of
200 additional jobs and the opening of a
new office in Cork, as part of a €100
million investment.
The announcement was made during an
event celebrating the company’s 25 years
in Ireland at EMC’s operation in Cork. The
company employs approximately 3,000
people in Ireland, with the new positions
focused on engineering, R&D, customer
support, sales and finance.
“EMC’s investment in Ireland is key to our
global growth strategy…our investment in
Ireland demonstrates our long-term
commitment to the country.” (David
Goulden,
President
&
COO,
EMC
Corporation)
Over the past two years many international companies have made strategic
investments in Ireland. Table 2 lists some of the investors.
Table 2: Key Tech Investors in 2013 and 2014
First Time
Expansions
FireEye
Qualcomm
Clio
eMaint
Nordeus
Loop1 Systems
Aditi Technologies
StorageCraft
Worldwide Tech Services
Squarespace
New Relic
Marin Software
PE Lynch
Primeur
SmartBear
EtQ
Guidewire Software
Salesforce.com
Citrix Systems
Dell Bank
Facebook
Intel
Google
Tyco
eBay / PayPal
Ericsson
Symantec
Twitter
Yahoo
SAP
IBM
Microsoft
R&D/Software
Development
Huawei
McAfee
ACI Worldwide
Fujitsu
Gilt Groupe
Liberty Global (UPC)
ON Semiconductor
Zendesk
VCE
Workday
AOL
EMC
NTT Data
HP
u-blox
Aon
Some details:
Tyco – 500 person Business Services Centre in Cork.
Qualcomm - Global Technology Delivery Centre in Cork.
Workday – 200 person expansion (R&D, sales, customer support).
Huawei – New R&D centre in two locations, Dublin and Cork.
Aditi Technologies – European Services & Business Development Centre.
WHAT INVESTORS SAY…
“Ireland’s successful track record with world-leading technology
companies, availability of highly skilled, technical talent along with
a pro-business environment, all played a significant part in
Qualcomm’s decision to locate in Cork.” (Peggy Johnson, EVP, Qualcomm
Technologies & President of Global Market Development, September 2013)
US FDI in Ireland at Record High
 Ireland now #1
export platform
in the world for
US affiliates.
 Over the five
years to 2012,
US firms
invested in
Ireland c.14
times what they
invested in China.
 US investment into Ireland between
2008-2012 was more than the previous
58 years combined.
Source: American Chamber of Commerce, October 2013
“With 140 similar [Business Services] centres already located here
that support companies based around the world, we were attracted
to Ireland’s expertise and culture of innovation, as well as the
availability of a strong technical workforce.” (Phil McVey, VP, Tyco
Business Systems, January 2014)
“Our Irish technology team has been instrumental in further
developing Gilt’s core ecommerce platform, bringing a combination
of engineering discipline, innovation and a passion for quality that
is rare.”(Michele Peluso, CEO, Gilt Groupe, October 2013)
WHO IS IN IRELAND…
Ireland: #1 globally for
investment incentives
(IMD World Competitiveness Yearbook 2014)
Limerick - Significant grant support is
available
Ireland is the international location of choice for the strategic business
activities of:






9 of the top 10 global software companies (e.g. Microsoft, IBM)
9 of the top 10 US tech companies (e.g. Intel, Dell)
3 of the top 3 global security software companies (e.g. Symantec, McAfee)
3 of the top 3 global enterprise software companies (e.g. SAP, Oracle)
4 of the top 5 IT services companies (e.g. HP, Fujitsu, Accenture)
Top 10 ‘born on the internet’ companies (e.g. Google, Facebook)
Table 3 provides a sample of international companies with a significant
presence in the country.
Table 3: Tech Multinationals in Ireland
Limerick has competitive salaries, local
talent, a supportive university and
institute of technology, and international
access via Shannon Airport.
International companies with significant
operations in the Limerick area include
Dell, Intel, Analog Devices, Symantec,
EMC, QAD, Liberty Global (UPC), ACI
Worldwide, EtQ and KEMP Technologies.
Link to Connect and Invest Limerick:
www.idaireland.com/connect-andinvest/limerick/
Liberty Global (UPC) opens new IT
Competency Centre in Limerick
Global
Leaders
HP
Internet
Software
Telecoms
Google
Symantec
Ericsson
IBM
eBay/PayPal
VMware
Microsoft
Yahoo!
Intel
Facebook
SAP
AOL
Adobe
Systems
Citrix
Systems
Red Hat
Cisco
Systems
Alcatel
Lucent
Avaya
Dell
LinkedIn
Novell
Telefónica Synopsys
Apple
Amazon.com
Sage
Oracle
Dropbox
EMC
Twitter
Salesforce.
com
McAfee
Schneider
Electric
Intec
Huawei
QLogic
Semiconductors Young, High
Growth
Analog Devices Riot Games
Texas
Instruments
Infineon
Technologies
Cypress
Semiconductor
Xilinx
Engine Yard
Marketo
FireEye
HubSpot
Zendesk
Cadence
Qualtrics
Maxim
Integrated
Qualcomm
Gilt Groupe
Squarespace
Indigenous Tech Sector
As well as a strong international corporate presence in the country, there is a
growing indigenous technology sector with some highly innovative startups
continually being established. Some examples of both established indigenous
and startup companies include:
Openet provides transaction management software to network
operators, enabling them to control, monetize, gain insights
and engage with network users.
Pictured at the announcement in 2013 are
(L-R) Henry Minogue, VP & CIO, UPC
Ireland; Minister for Finance, Michael
Noonan; and Donal Flavin, IDA Ireland.
AdaptiveMobile provides network operators with real time
network-based security solutions, enabling them to protect
customers.
pTools is an Enterprise Web Content Management (WCM)
vendor, with a focus on finance, government, security and
utility sectors.
KEMP Technologies Expands
Fenergo is a provider of end-to-end customer lifecycle
management solutions for financial institutions.
“Choosing Limerick as KEMP’s gateway to
international market expansion has turned
out to be a tremendous success for the
company.”
(Ray Downes, CEO, KEMP
Technologies, April 2014)
iQuate provides users with visibility of their ‘IT estate’.
Customers use iQuate software to streamline IT compliance and
to manage audits.
Ireland is the fastest growing
country in Europe for data centre
operators (Colliers International Report 2014)
Galway - No.1 Micro European City*
Trustev, a security technology company, provides real-time
anti fraud and payment protection solutions for eCommerce.
CloudDock provides a file synchronisation platform that makes
it easier for users of services like Dropbox, Box, Google Drive
and Microsoft OneDrive to manage their cloud services in one
place.
Oneview specialises in the development of innovative solutions
and patient engagement services for the healthcare sector.
INDEPENDENT COMMENTARY & #1 GLOBAL RATINGS
Ireland is #1 on Forbes’ list of the best places globally to do business.
Knowledge and skills intensive companies
are drawn to Galway due to the talent pool
and
business,
science,
engineering,
multilingual and managerial expertise.
International companies with sizeable
operations in Galway include HP, Avaya,
Cisco, SAP, IBM, Schneider Electric and
EA Games.
*fDi Intelligence’s study of the most promising investment
locations in Europe (February 2014)
HP Commences Construction on
State-of-the-Art Facility in Galway
According to a recent Forbes
analysis*, Ireland has an
extremely
pro-business
environment
which
has
attracted investments from
some of the world’s biggest
companies over the past
decade.
In the analysis, Ireland was
the only country to rank in
the top 15% across all eleven
metrics Forbes examined.
Ireland ranked particularly
high for low tax burden, investor protection and personal freedom.
In an associated comment, Moody’s highlighted the well educated workforce
and 12.5% corporate tax rate (one of the lowest in Europe) as big draws for
international companies, as well as the language factor for companies from
anglophone countries.
*Forbes ‘Best Countries for Business’ Report (December 2013) graded 145 nations on 11 different
factors: e.g. property rights, innovation, taxes, technology, corruption, freedom (personal, trade
and monetary), red tape, investor protection and stock market performance.
#1 Global Ratings for Ireland
In February, HP announced the formal
commencement of the construction phase
of its new 89,000 sq ft office building in
Galway. The new building will be
dedicated to software research and
development, cloud technology and
business services with capacity for c.700
employees.
“Galway continues to be a great source of
IT talent that can drive future innovation
for HP.” (John Hinshaw, Exec. V.P., Global
Technology & Operations, HP speaking at
the groundbreaking ceremony)
1st in the World for best place to do business¹
1st in the World for availability of skilled labour2
1st in the World for attitudes towards globalisation²
1st in the World for flexibility & adaptability of workforce2
1st in the World for investment incentives2
1st in the World for inward investment by quality and value³
1st in the World for human capital - Dublin City4
1st in Europe for investor protection5
1st in Europe for paying taxes5
1st in Europe for attaining third level education6
1st in Europe for the number of investment jobs per capita³
Ireland has 50% of its
population under the age of 35
(Eurostat May 2013)
1st in Western Europe for ‘Best to Invest’ 7
1st as Europe’s most entrepreneurial country (Wall Street Journal 2013)
1.Forbes 2013
2.IMD World Competitiveness Yearbook 2014
3. IBM Global Location Trends Report 2013
4.EIU, Benchmarking Global City Report 2012
5.World Bank, Doing Business Report 2014
6.Eurostat EU Labour Force Survey 2013
7.Global Best to Invest Report, Site Selection Magazine, May 2013
CORPORATE RESEARCH AND PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT
Intel’s Irish-Designed Chip
Intel’s new Galileo development board,
containing the new Quark SoC X1000 chip,
was unveiled in October 2013. Both were
developed at Intel’s Leixlip plant in
Ireland.
Ireland is an attractive location for corporate
R&D, with a growing number of companies
undertaking new research and product
development activities. For example in 2012,
IDA supported companies increased their
overall expenditure on R&D by 18%.
An increasing technical talent pool, the
country’s 25% R&D tax credit and generous grant support from IDA Ireland are
contributing factors to ongoing growth. Table 4 has examples of companies
with strategic R&D centres and research programmes.
Table 4: R&D Activities in Ireland
Company
IBM
VCE to add 150 R&D positions at its
International HQ in Cork
Pictured at the announcement in March
are (L-R) Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and
Innovation, Richard Bruton and Bob
Taccini, CFO, VCE.
VCE, a cloud computing & software
infrastructure company, announced plans
to create up to 150 new R&D positions at
its international headquarters in Cork. The
R&D team will develop new features for
Vblock Systems that support emerging
technologies in both cloud and virtual
environments.
The new R&D roles will significantly
expand VCE’s existing operations in
Ireland, which include professional and
customer services, manufacturing, sales
operations and general support functions.
“Four years ago, VCE established its
International HQ in Cork because of its
highly educated workforce, the incredible
passion this workforce has for technology,
and ease of doing business.” (Bob Taccini,
CFO, VCE, March 2014)
Intel
R&D / Centre Activities include
Smarter cities technology (e.g. transportation, water,
urban information management), risk analytics,
exascale computing and software development
Chip design, software development, Internet of Things,
data analytics and high performance computing
Analog Devices
IC design. Analogue technologies (data converters,
mixed-signal & RF integrated circuits)
Cisco
Dell
Unified communications; enterprise/cloud enabled
desktop, mobile applications, real time web
communications and desktop virtualization solutions
Cloud computing and customer technology solutions
Aon
Centre for Innovation & Analytics
McAfee
Centre of Excellence for Enterprise Security Solutions,
including cloud, anti-virus and encryption technologies
Fujitsu
Collaborative R&D in Big Data, cloud computing, sensor
technologies and future internet
MasterCard
Centre of Excellence for Java Development
Some recent notable product developments in Ireland include:
 Microsoft: Key functions of Microsoft’s Windows 8 operating system,
including the on-screen keyboard.
 Intel: Intel’s Galileo development board, containing the Quark SoC X1000
chip, which will enable a host of low power devices in wearable technology
and the Internet of Things.
 Aon: The world’s largest proprietary insurance placement database system,
known as the Global Risk Insight Platform (GRIP).
 Movidius (an Irish company): A revolutionary chip (ultra-low power, highperformance and programmable architecture) that is core to Google’s
‘Project Tango’ smartphone, a 3D sensing device that maps and learns the
world around it.
 S3 (Irish company): ‘World’s smallest’ analogue-to-digital converter (ADC)
chip for use in Wi-Fi and LTE-connected devices.
 DecaWave (Irish company): First integrated circuit to electronically identify
a specific distance to any object, person or thing with +/- 10 cm precision.
SUPPORTIVE RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT INFRASTRUCTURE
Ireland “top performer” in
delivering innovation
Ireland has a broad range of leading edge, publicly funded tech research
centres, which are available to support companies with their corporate
research programmes. The centres are also a source of high quality talent,
familiar with contemporary and next generation technologies and techniques.
Table 5 summarises some of the main research centres:
(European Commission: ‘Indicator of Innovation
Output’, 2013)
Table 5: Research Centres in Ireland
TSSG – Telecommunications Software
& Systems Group
Research Institute
Research Areas
Website
Tyndall National
Institute
Micro/nanoelectronics,
microsystems and photonics
www.tyndall.ie
MCCI (Microelectronics
Microelectronics: analogue,
mixed-signal and RF design
www.mcci.ie
Circuits Centre Ireland)
CRANN (Centre for
Nanotechnology
www.crann.ie
Research on Adaptive
Nanostructures and
Nanodevices)
TSSG, established in Waterford in 1996, is
a telecoms software R&D centre with
particular expertise in all aspects of
mobile. TSSG focuses on telecoms
networks, including next generation
internet networks, converged services,
security and mobile services. Industry
partners include Ericsson, Vodafone, and
Alcatel-Lucent.
AMBER (Advanced
Materials &
BioEngineering Research)
Insight (Centre for Data
of
Ireland’s
R&D
 Strong government commitment to
RD&I through funding for industry
research and collaborative industry,
academic programmes
 25% tax credit on the cost of eligible
RD&I activity
 Transparent legislation around patents
and IP
Big Data/data analytics,
sensors and semantic web
www.insightcentre.org
CeADAR (Centre for
Big Data/data analytics
www.ucd.ie/
ceadar/
Applied Data Analytics
Research)
Cloud Computing &
Commerce)
ICHEC (Irish Centre for
High-End Computing)
LERO (Irish Software
www.ctvr.ie
www.tssg.org
Manufacturing Research)
Telecommunications networks,
including converged/mobile
services, security, data mining
and social computing
Translation/localisation,
search/discovery, analytics and
personalisation
Learning technologies: social
search, content analysis,
gamification/personalisation
Manufacturing informatics,
including data analytics
MSSI (Materials &
Composite materials
Telecommunications
Value-Chain Research)
 Internationally recognised research
CNGL (Centre for Next
Generation Localisation)
Learnovate
ICMR (Irish Centre for
(Wall Street Journal 2013)
www.ichec.ie
Wireless and optical networking
technologies
CTVR (Centre for
(Telecommunications
Software & Systems
Group)
Ireland is Europe’s most
entrepreneurial country
www.IC4.ie
www.lero.ie
TSSG
community with strong links between
industry, Higher Education Institutions
(HEI’s), international universities and
research institutions
Cloud technologies, including
migration, interoperability and
mobile encryption
High performance computing
support for collaborative R&D
Software engineering, including
security/privacy, standards and
autonomic computing
Engineering Research
Centre)
 Excellent legal expertise for the
commercialisation and protection of IP
rights
www.amber
centre.ie
Analytics)
IC4 (Irish Centre for
Key Features
Environment
Advanced materials and
bioengineering
Surface Science Institute)
www.cngl.ie
www.learnovate
centre.org
www.icmr.ie
www.ul.ie/mssi/
Dublin’s Booming Tech Market
Dublin set to overtake London
as Europe’s IT real-estate capital
(Colliers International Report 2014)
Dublin’s overall tech office space has
risen sharply in recent years.
Facebook confirmed in late 2013 it is to
double the company’s office space in
Ireland. Facebook’s Dublin office will be
the company’s largest operation outside of
the Group HQ.
Amazon.com announced in early 2014 its
plans to move the company’s Dublin
Development Centre to a 69,000 sq ft
office. The new office will be home to 450
employees from the summer and will
provide capacity for future growth.
How IDA Ireland Can Help Investors
rt
 Startup
assistance &
advice
 Provision of
grants for
investments
(employment,
R&D, training)
 Itinerary planning and execution
 Provision of information on tax, skills,
education & research programmes,
labour law, investment opportunities,
operating costs, infrastructure, support
services, etc
 Introductions
to
local
industry,
government, service providers, and
research & educational institutions
 Single point of contact
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
HEAD OFFICE - IDA Ireland
Wilton Park House, Wilton Place, Dublin 2
Tel: +353 1 603 4000
Email: [email protected]
Website: www.idaireland.com
Twitter: @IDAIRELAND
www.youtube.com/investireland
www.linkedin.com/company/ida-Ireland
Notable Research Achievements
Some recent ‘world first’ research achievements at Ireland’s research centres
include:
New technology that doubles the battery performance of mobile
phones, laptops and electric cars (MSSI).
Global first, research method for producing industrial quantities of
high quality graphene. Potential applications here include foldable
touch screens for mobile phones and laptops (AMBER).
New technology enabling Linked Open Data (LOD), currently on
different sites and formats, to be stored and sorted up to 10 times
faster than previously, leading to new information
(Insight/Fujitsu collaborative research).
World’s first junctionless transistor, which over time will help
miniaturise electronic devices (Tyndall).
World’s lowest noise frequency generators for mobile phones
(Tyndall).
World’s first atom-by-atom simulation of nanoscale film, using an
Atomic Layer Disposition (ALD) technique, which has potential to
revolutionise silicon chip production (Tyndall).
WHY IRELAND…
 Significant base of international tech companies
 Growing population…young, well educated and flexible; rapidly increasing
engineering graduate output
 Attractive
Competitivetax
costs,
corporate
tax rate
with ongoing
improvements
 An advanced
system
with a 12.5%
andtelecommunications
25% R&D tax credit
infrastructure
 Competitive costs,
improvements
with ongoing
 Access to an EU
market
of 500 million
 An
advanced
people
infrastructure
 Flexible / pro-business
environment
telecommunications
 Flexible / Pro-
business
Environment
multilingual
people
 Supportive R&D
 Only
English
Infrastructure
 Talented, technical &
 Attractive tax system with a 12.5% corporate tax rate and 25% R&D tax credit
 Only English speaking member of the Eurozone
 Generous corporate incentives