IDA Ireland welcomes expansion of IBM’s software developer presence in Waterford

The Irish Government and IDA Ireland today welcomed IBM’s announcement to create additional high-value jobs in the south-east of the country. The leading global technology company will, over the next three years, hire up to 75 software engineers, dedicated to research and development (R&D), based in Waterford.

The roles will focus on cutting-edge innovation for IBM Z, the infrastructure powering 70% of global transactions by value*. The Waterford software engineers will closely collaborate with IBM’s R&D teams around the world, from designing processors and firmware to software development and advancing the Linux operating system.

Peter Burke TD, Minister for Enterprise Tourism & Employment, said: “IBM’s decision to expand its operations in Waterford with the creation of up to 75 highly-skilled software engineering roles is very welcome news. This investment is a strong endorsement of the South-East region’s growing reputation as a hub for innovation and advanced technology. It also reflects the government’s commitment to supporting regional development and fostering strong partnerships between industry and academia. I commend IBM for its continued confidence in Ireland and for its collaboration with the South-East Technological University to build a future-ready workforce.”

Jack Chambers TD, Minister for Public Expenditure & Reform, said: “I welcome this very positive development which underscores Ireland’s attractiveness as a location for businesses to invest in and to expand R&D operations. This strengthens IBM’s long-standing presence in Ireland where it employs thousands of people today. IBM has cited Ireland’s strong talent pool as a key factor in allowing the company to grow here, which reflects the significant increased investment by the Government in education, and particularly our third-level sector, over recent years. We are committed to supporting research and development in our tech sector, including in the South-East of our country, to drive balanced, regional development and economic growth.”

In addition to the expansion of R&D functions in Waterford, IDA Ireland also welcomes IBM’s decision to deepen its collaboration with the South East Technological University, to develop a technical skills ecosystem with a focus on mainframes and Linux.

Nathan Cullen, country general manager, IBM Ireland, said:

“I am delighted to see our footprint in Ireland evolve further. This is testimony to the deep talent pools available across the country, upon which we have steadily built our business, including mainframes which are a cornerstone of global transactions. IBM has now operated in Ireland for nearly 70 years and this milestone investment for the region also speaks volumes about the ecosystem that has built up around the South Eastern Technical University.”

IBM last year announced the recruitment of another 800 high-tech jobs in Ireland by 2027, cementing the country’s position as a globally strategic location for the company. These new roles, spanning R&D, digital sales and Consulting operations, will be spread across Dublin, Cork and Waterford.

Michael Lohan, IDA Ireland CEO, said: “This R&D investment announced by IBM is fantastic news for Waterford and indeed the South East Region. This investment is also closely aligned to Adapt Intelligently: A Strategy for Sustainable Growth and Innovation, 2025-29, where IDA has committed to positioning Ireland at the centre of cutting-edge global technological innovation in the next five years. I warmly welcome this decision by IBM and assure them of IDA’s continued partnership.”

Transformative Investment from IBM Ireland to create up to 800 high value tech jobs

Technology giant IBM Ireland today announced a new investment that will create up to 800 high-tech jobs across Ireland, helping build advanced software underpinned by the latest Artificial Intelligence technologies to advance Security, Automation and Hybrid Cloud. The AI technology will include foundational and Large Language Models that are key for Generative AI.

The investment will create hundreds of roles in research and development, as well as digital sales and consulting; and see Ireland continue to be among IBM’s strategic locations globally. The roles will be created across IBM sites in Dublin, Cork and at IBM’s subsidiary, Red Hat, located in Waterford.

The new staff will join IBM’s and Red Hat’s vibrant and diverse workforce, and help enhance Ireland’s rich and highly skilled technology talent pool that supports employment in knowledge-intensive and high-technology sectors.  As the EU leader for the number of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) graduates per capita, Ireland has a talent pipeline fuelled by skilled young people while educators collaborate with industry to provide the skills needed in the future.

IBM has been in Ireland for more than 65 years during which time it has continually evolved its operations and capabilities to support the company’s global strategy. Today, IBM’s operations in Ireland help clients across key sectors such as financial services and healthcare streamline their business processes, increase productivity and gain competitive advantage through technology. Ireland is also host to IBM Research’s only facility in the EU.

The three-year investment is supported by the Government of Ireland through IDA Ireland.

Speaking of the announcement Taoiseach Simon Harris said, “I very much welcome IBM’s announcement today which not only reinforces the company’s deep-rooted commitment to Ireland as a strategic location but is also set to deliver real impact to the Irish economy through job creation and by strengthening specialist skills and expertise. Furthermore, this news demonstrates Ireland’s continued attractiveness as a preferred location for global companies to build out their digitalisation, research and innovation capabilities.”

Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment, Peter Burke said: “This is fantastic news. Today’s announcement that IBM Ireland are to create 800 skilled tech jobs between Dublin, Cork and Waterford, is hugely welcome. IBM is a world leader in Technology and has been a long standing high value employer in Ireland for almost three quarters of a century. Ireland is now ranked as the fifth most advanced digital economy in the EU, and having IBM choose Ireland for this new project is another vote of confidence in our country. The Government fully supports advancements in AI and Digital Transformation, and these roles will allow for exciting innovative opportunities for many of our skilled workforce throughout the country. Thanks to IBM for your continued investment here and best of luck to all involved in this exciting new initiative.”

Speaking of the announcement James Kavanaugh, IBM senior vice president and chief financial officer, said, “As IBM continues to help organizations transform their businesses with hybrid cloud and AI, attracting, developing, and retaining talent remains a key priority. Today’s announcement is a result of our strong relationship with IDA Ireland and the Irish government, but is also a testament to the calibre of talent here in Ireland, one of many reasons Ireland continues to be a strategic location for IBM.”

Deborah Threadgold, IBM Ireland country general manager, added, “We’re thrilled to announce this landmark and transformational initiative that will position the Irish operation at the cutting edge of next generation technology development within IBM globally.”

Speaking of the announcement, Michael Lohan, IDA Ireland chief executive officer, said “This is a remarkable initiative by IBM Ireland that will not only drive transformation within IBM and Red Hat’s operations but will deliver strong impact in Dublin, Cork and Waterford. It is also set to deliver real uplift in the Irish technology ecosystem by advancing capabilities across key growth areas for IDA Ireland such as Cloud, AI, Quantum and Cybersecurity.  IDA Ireland has partnered with IBM for more than 60 years and we look forward to continuing to do so throughout this exciting project.”

For the latest information and to apply for the currently open roles at IBM and Red Hat, visit:

https://www.ibm.com/careers/

https://jobs.redhat.com

IDA Ireland supports IBM multi-year training programme with Trinity College Dublin and University College Dublin

Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment Simon Coveney TD and IDA Ireland today welcomed the news that IBM is launching a further significant phase to a multi-year transformational training programme across its research and digital sales teams in Ireland, which is intended to be worth more than €10m over approximately the next five years. The programme is supported by the Government of Ireland through IDA Ireland.

The skills transformation is part of IBM’s new ‘reimagined workforce’ and includes an innovative bespoke training programme under which IBM intends to hire approximately 35 pre-PhD research candidates to work at IBM’s research’s lab in Dublin, and train across cutting-edge technologies such as AI, quantum, information security and Accelerated Discovery. The pre-PhD programme is undertaken in conjunction with Trinity College Dublin and University College Dublin. Significant transformative skills training will also be provided to IBM’s digital sales team covering sales leadership, client acquisition and a new early career development programme.

Welcoming the new investment by IBM, Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment Simon Coveney TD said: “I am pleased to see that IBM is making this new investment of over €10m across its research and digital sales teams in Ireland. The ‘reimagined workforce’ initiative will provide about 35 pre-PhD students with an incredible opportunity to receive the most advanced technological training available from the excellent teachers and resources in Trinity College. A culture of partnership between industry, academia and Government, is essential in promoting innovation and developing a skilled workforce, creating employment opportunities for qualified students into industry. I wish all involved the best of luck.”

Headquartered in Armonk, New York, IBM has been operating in Ireland since 1956 with over 2,500 staff primarily based in Dublin, Cork and Galway; including its IBM Research lab – the only one in the EU – and its pan-European Digital Sales Centre.

Deborah Threadgold, Country General Manager, IBM Ireland said: “IBM’s business has transformed repeatedly over the six-plus decades it’s been established in Ireland. Central to this ability to evolve and grow has been our capacity to attract highly skilled people, and their willingness to keep learning and developing. This innovative multi-year programme will provide the foundation for exciting developments in strategic and emerging technologies and support how we engage with our clients in their digital transformations.”

Commenting on the announcement Michael Lohan, CEO, IDA Ireland said: ‘’This new investment in training by IBM is most welcome news and is very much aligned to IDA Ireland’s Transformation pillar that is central to our current strategy. IBM’s commitment to Ireland over its long history here has played a significant role in the development of the technology and innovation ecosystem we have here today. I wish IBM every success with this multi-million-euro investment.”

Quantum computing is a rapidly emerging technology that harnesses the laws of quantum mechanics, and is being explored as a technology that could solve problems too complex for classical computers.

IBM is also making contributions to help advance Ireland’s quantum research and development capability, including collaborations with other research institutions, multinationals and indigenous companies through its community-driven outreach and IBM Quantum Network to help develop innovative use cases for quantum computing.

IBM stuns with 7 nanometer Functioning Chip by @Tiwaash #tech

IBM has been working constantly over the years to provide the world a new and unique computing experience. The consistent research and development by the good folks at IBM have come up with something very surprising a 7 nanometer functioning chip.

IBM along with Global Foundries, Samsung and the SUNY Polytechnic Institute’s Colleges of Nanoscale Science and Engineering in Albany, New York, represents a $3 billion investment in chip technology research and this first 7-nanometer node test chips with functional transistors is a result of the hardwork through the years.

The scale down in size was achieved by using Silicon Germanium (SiGe) channel transistors and Extreme Ultraviolet (EUV) lithography integration. According to IBM, the breakthrough could deliver up to 50% better power and performance for future systems supporting Big Data and mobile products.

This ground breaking innovation is a sign of revolution in the way computing is done today. The 7 nanometer chip has opened up a total new avenue for development of more powerful and energy efficient chips. We are hopeful that IBM will continue to surprise us in the coming years.

Stay tuned for more tech buzz.

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