Frequently Asked Questions

Q: What is the Irish Technology Showcase?

A: The Irish Technology Showcase is an invitation-only event where American executives have the unique opportunity to meet with senior level technologists and business executives from the most prestigious technology companies in Ireland. Participants will learn how Ireland’s specialized technology solutions can help propel their company forward by entering new markets, increasing revenue streams and boosting productivity to higher levels.

Q: What types of technologies will be showcased?

A: Participants will be shown industry-leading, first-to-market software products and services that address critical issues in eLearning, entertainment/digital media, financial services, enterprise software, government, telecommunications and travel industries.

Q: Why purchase technology products and services from Ireland?

A: Ireland’s highly skilled indigenous workforce has produced many unique, world-leading technology products and services for specialized markets. Ireland has extensive expertise selling and deploying a variety of innovative technology products in the U.S. and around the globe. Many Irish technology companies run offices in the U.S. to service American customers locally

Recognizing Ireland’s expertise and its highly unique products, many U.S. corporations have already chosen Irish firms to best meet their technology needs. AOL recently chose Irish-based Valista to provide online payments and collaborative marketing technology for the company’s strategic premium services initiative. T-Mobile tapped Ireland’s NewBay to provide their customers with the world’s first mobile blog service.

Q: Why partner with Irish companies?

A: Irish technology companies are highly appealing partners for many American businesses. Given the cultural similarity to the U.S. both socially and economically, Ireland provides American businesses with a strong development and management gateway to the European market.

Irish companies have a long history of partnering with major U.S. companies, including JP MorganChase, MBNA, American Express, Merrill Lynch, IBM, Dell, and Wells Fargo. Ireland is fast becoming the readily accessible business heartland of Europe, with several leading U.S. technology corporations operating out of Ireland and/or choosing the country as its European headquarters, including Microsoft, IBM, Oracle, Siebel, Accenture, AOL, eBay, Nortel, and Ericcson.

Q: How large is the Irish technology industry?

A: The Irish technology industry consists of approximately 600 companies, 250 of which have significant levels of overseas sales. In 2002, Ireland’s combined exports totaled more than €1.5 billion. The U.S. and Great Britain are Ireland’s two largest export markets, comprising about €1 billion.

Q: What types of expertise do Irish companies have in technology?

A: Ireland has the youngest and the most highly educated workforce in Europe, which has facilitated the emergence of a large pool of developers with J2EE skills and resulted in significant development activity in web services. Microsoft has singled out the Irish developer base for special attention and is forging partnerships with leading Irish firms to foster adoption of its .Net platform. In addition, Ireland is home to more than half the world's largest financial institutions, as well as some of the largest manufacturing and distribution businesses in the world.

Q: Which countries currently purchase technology from Ireland?

A: It is estimated that 85% of Irish manufacturing output is exported - placing Ireland among the top three merchandise and software exporters in the world per capita. The U.S. and the UK are the two largest markets, accounting for around €1 billion of total exports. Mainland Europe, Asia-Pacific and the Middle East are also significant markets for Irish software. In Japan and Hong Kong, mobile applications developers are winning large numbers of customers.