IDA-supported investment of EUR 66 million to create as many as 200 jobs

Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Innovation, Batt O’Keeffe T.D. and IBM today (Wednesday 24th March 2010) announced the establishment of IBM’s first Smarter Cities Technology Centre. The Centre will be located in Dublin where IBM will build a highly skilled and cross-disciplinary team to help cities around the world better understand, interconnect and manage their core operational systems such as transport, communication, water and energy.

The new Smarter Cities Technology Centre will create as many as 200 new jobs in an IDA-supported investment of up to EUR 66 million over the next three years. The team of subject matter experts will work with city authorities, universities, small and large businesses as well as experts from IBM Research and the company’s Software Development Lab in Ireland to research, develop and commercialise new ways of making city systems more connected, sustainable and intelligent.
Speaking at today’s announcement, the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Innovation, Batt O’Keeffe T.D., said: “I am delighted to welcome the new IBM Smarter Cities Technology Centre to Dublin. The decision by IBM underscores the Irish Government’s commitment to providing an environment where industry and academia can collaborate to create economic growth through innovation and research. This project illustrates how IDA Ireland working with globally integrated businesses such as IBM can help create the Irish Smart Economy while also assisting highly innovative companies such as IBM to achieve their business goals”.

Due in large part to the enormous modelling complexity and intensive computing resources required to build truly integrated systems, urban planners and local governments have traditionally evolved separate solutions for areas such as water, traffic and emergency response. By being able to integrate their core systems and use advanced analytic capabilities offered by IBM’s new centre, cities can now enhance decision-making, improve urban planning, and provide better and more cost-effective services to citizens.

“Researchers at the new Centre will investigate how advanced analytics and visualisation techniques coupled with solutions such as cloud, stream, and high performance computing, can help city authorities make optimal use of resources and so meet the challenges of our increasingly urbanised world,” said Dr. Katherine Frase, Vice President, Industry Solutions and Emerging Business at IBM Research.

“In today’s rapidly changing world, no company can afford to stand still. IBM has been in Ireland since 1956 and, continues to evolve its presence in Ireland towards higher value, knowledge intensive activity. Today’s announcement is yet another step in the evolution and follows on from a number of announcements over the past three years which have ensured that Ireland continues to play a critical role in IBM’s success,” said Michael Daly, Country General Manager IBM Ireland.

IDA Ireland CEO, Barry O’Leary said, “Today’s announcement by IBM fits neatly with IDA Ireland’s recently published strategy, Horizon 2020. Global megatrends, such as demographic changes present business opportunities for companies prepared to research, plan, prepare and innovate. Ireland’s ability to act as a test-bed for research and new technology to enable companies develop and internationalise innovative products and services is a decisive factor in winning new investment of this kind”

IBM also welcomed the recent announcement by Dublin City of its intent to collaborate with IBM as a ‘Test bed’, positioning Dublin as a smarter city, embracing technology to stimulate economic activity and meeting the challenges of a globally competitive city for the future.

Capital city Dublin was dealt a severe jobs blow when a leading multinational announced 120 voluntary redundancies. Galway waits nervously on the outcome of a general meeting at Celestica and Donegal is dealt a jobs blow by Boston Scientific. Read all the latest jobs news in Ireland.

Boston Scientific plans to move its manufacturing plant from Donegal to Galway. The Donegal plant employs 120 staff which is a sever blow for the region. The opportunity will be available for some workers in Galway.

IBM is seeking 120 voluntary redundancies at its plant in Mulhuddart. This is due to plans to relocate manufacturing of high-end computer servers to a plant in Singapore.

Celestica in Galway are due to hold a general meeting for staff this week to discuss the future of the facility. The electronics company employs 380 people in Galway and reduced working hours last week. The Canadian firm also closed a factory in the US last week at a cost of 590 jobs.

The IBM Centre of Excellence for Water Management is a project in which the IT giant plans to invest EUR7 million over the next three years. The 12 new positions at the Dublin centre are primarily in the area of research and development.

Dr Sharon Nunes, vice president for Big Green Innovations at IBM:

“We are focussed on the research and development of technology that will help to solve some of the problems around the world today relating to water.”.

The Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment – Micheal Martin – announced that IBM is setting up a cloud computing centre in Dublin. This is great news as the announcement will create 21 new jobs and good ones at that. Most of the jobs will be research based. The development will be an IDA backed project – so all credit to them!!