A growing list of American firms are looking into or actively participating in European expansion plans, and part of that includes a substantial investment in Ireland.  To learn more, VMblog spoke with Tara O’Mahony, VP of Software Technology at IDA Ireland

VMblog:  Let's start out with the basics -- what does IDA do?

Tara O’Mahony:  IDA (Investment Development Agency) Ireland was created by the Irish government more than seven decades ago to encourage investment into Ireland by foreign-owned companies. The positive impact of IDA's efforts has been symbiotic for the US, Ireland, Europe and the many foreign companies that have expanded to Ireland. 

In 2021, IDA Ireland secured a total of 163 international investments from North American companies;  they benefit from expanded revenues and the ecosystem of companies located there.   

VMblog:  Why are we seeing so many virtualization, enterprise software and cloud computing companies expand to Ireland in the last year/recent years?

O’Mahony:  In the cloud computing sphere, every one of the top 10 cloud leaders, according to CIO Insight, has an Irish location. These are Amazon, Microsoft, Google, IBM, Oracle, VMware, Salesforce, HP Enterprise, Adobe and Cisco, joined by other well-known names like EMC, Citrix, Dropbox, Stripe and Square. Having a critical mass of software-related companies located there for many years attracts new companies that want to leverage the brain power, infrastructure and support that have benefitted earlier arrivals. 

VMblog:  Why is it important for U.S. companies to have a footprint in Europe? 

O’Mahony:  As the world's largest single market of some 550 million people, Europe has long been too potentially lucrative to be ignored by American businesses. The United States and Europe account for approximately half of global GDP and nearly a third of world trade flow.  Expanding to the European market is a key strategy for many companies and a large number of U.S. companies use Ireland as an entry point to the EU. From Ireland, they gain access to an English-speaking, highly skilled and flexible workforce.  In addition, companies in regulated industries such as pharmaceuticals, medical devices and financial services will have easier access to the European regulatory system by operating from Ireland, which is known for its ease of doing business.

O’Mahony:  Worldwide there is a huge demand for skilled researchers that are in short supply.  Many United States companies find it cost-efficient to hire engineering talent in Ireland. A skilled engineer or programmer can cost half of the going rate in tech hubs like Seattle or the Bay Area. Irish labor costs are 10th in the EU, below countries such as Germany, Belgium, Luxembourg, France, and the Netherlands.  There is also a strong pipeline of university graduates, with major Irish universities consulting industry when designing course curriculums.

Steven Duggan, Vice President International at Terawe Corporation an innovator in AI, IoT, edge, fog and cloud services & solutions, sourced remote talent in Ireland during the pandemic.  When we spoke to Duggan he told us, "We need people who are good sellers. We need people with an understanding of core target industries. We also need people with the charm, communication, and soft skills to help us build our business. We hire Irish people for the same reason that people have always done it," he told us.  "They are well educated, well qualified, and have people skills that are very rare to find."

VMblog:  And finally, why is R&D in Ireland a particular lure for U.S. software companies? 

O’Mahony:  In addition to strong talent availability, Ireland has a supportive business environment for R&D activity.   U.S. companies doing business in Ireland can avail of R&D resources available to EU companies such as the €95.5 billion Horizon Europe innovation program.  There are also separate R&D grants available from IDA Ireland.  Companies we know such as Raydiant Oximetry have taken advantage of the Ireland's 25% R&D tax credit and more affordable skilled labor costs.  CEO Neil Ray's concept, based on pulse oximetry to measure fetal oxygen levels non-invasively, was developed in Tyndall in Ireland. In terms of cost, Tyndall was able to co-fund the cost of his initial proposal through its hosted center, the Irish Photonics Integration Centre (IPIC), funded by Science Foundation Ireland (SFI).  Raydiant paid one third of the cost out of their own pocket, while IPIC co-funded the rest. Neil Ray told us that Tyndall understood the timelines and were able to complete their first proposal within three months. Institutions in the U.S. were saying a year to complete that proposal, he said.

 Research centers open to working with US companies include:

• Tyndall National Institute, one of Europe's leading research centers, specializing in information and communications technology.
• The Centre for Applied Data Analytics Research (CeADAR), an industry-focused technology center for the development and deployment of big data analytics technology and innovation.
• Insight Centre for Data Analytics, which is involved in exploiting big data to enable better decision making.
• Telecommunications, Software and Systems Group is an internationally recognized center of excellence.
• The Irish Software Engineering Research Centre (LERO)focuses on developing new techniques to allow software to enhance itself automatically.