Why is Ireland becoming a global technology hub?
Following on from the recent news that software firm R3 are planning to open their second European office in Dublin in 2020, this article outlines why Ireland is standing out to be a digital destination.
- Global Tech Hub
9 of the 10 worlds top medical technology companies and the top 10 ‘born on the Internet’ companies such as Google and Facebook are operating at scale in Ireland.
- Digital Workforce
There is a large, highly skilled, multilingual workforce already in place in Ireland, which means it is a great place to set up a multi-functional team focused on different regions.
- EU Location
Ireland is an EU member state, providing easy, quick access to over 500 million potential customers.
- Government Commitment to Innovation
A very attractive, 12.5% corporation tax coupled with a 25% R&D tax credits initiative shows the government commitment to innovation and fostering new business.
- Dedicated to Global Markets
Firms like Enterprise Ireland are a government organisation responsible for the development and growth of Irish enterprises in world markets. They work in partnership with Irish enterprises to help them start, grow, innovate and win export sales in global markets.
While Blockchain technology has been deployed in several industries, the finance sector has been the most eager to get involved given its potential for managing and verifying transactions.
A business value of about $176 billion is expected to be created by Blockchain technology by 2025, and expected to increase to over $3 trillion by the year 2030. This has prompted the demand for Blockchain technical know-how to be on the rise. Ireland have identified the importance of training and upskilling current employees with Blockchain and Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT) learning.
Dave Fleming, Global Head of Research & Development at Mastercard Labs in Dublin, says specific training resources, such as specialist university courses dedicated to Blockchain and DLT are welcome in the City of Dublin. These opportunities to advance digital development is what also attracts the top global talent and business, from Europe, America and Asia-Pacific.
Blockchain and DLT are still relatively new technologies as Mastercard’s Dave Fleming notes
“Finding people with 10, 15 or 20 years’ of blockchain experience is clearly not possible”.
Ireland have been open to learning and adopting emerging technologies from their early stages, earning the opportunity to place themselves on the world map as thought leaders – especially within applications development and the future of Blockchain.
Contact Joseph Lee for more information on this article.
Sources: ConnectIreland.com, Comit.ie, idaireland.com, enterprise-ireland.com, fora.ie/blockchain-ireland-education
