The investment has enabled IBM to hire an extra 40 skilled software staff over the past three months, boosting employment at its Santry facility to 180 people.One of the State's biggest technology employers, IBM will invest an extra €22 million at its Dublin software laboratory in a move to boost the level of research undertaken in Ireland.
IBM, which was the first multinational firm to establish a software centre in the Republic during the 1970s, will now develop key components for its new Lotus Workplace product.
Launchedthis week in the US, this is designed to help customers collaborate more productively using integrated functions such as e-mail, instant messaging and document management.
WorkPlace will be supplied to customers as a complete package and the customer will be able to select, switch on and pay for the applications as they need them.
Ms Elaine Stephen, IBM's director of Lotus Workplace collaborative learning, said the laboratory was focusing on creating intuitive software that could create a broader view of software learning products. She said the investment had also helped IBM to develop new initiatives such as university collaborations. The firm has selected seven Irish university scientists to work with the laboratory on innovative research, she added.
The new investment in Dublin comes as the software laboratory plans to move from its Santry office to a new specially designed facility at IBM's technology campus in Mulhuddart. This site also hosts IBM's manufacturing, procurement and customer support operations, which in total employ about 4,000 employees.
At an event to announce the new investment yesterday, the Tánaiste, Ms Harney, said the IBM decision to invest in Dublin was in line with Government policy to promote more research.
One of the key initiatives that has been set up by the IBM software laboratory is the Extreme Blue project, which gives talented students an opportunity to work at the centre in Dublin.
Mr Bill Kearney, manager of the IBM Dublin Software Centre, said this project demonstrated that the firm could attract innovative students.
It was also interested in graduates who will create the innovations necessary for the future growth of the lab, he added.
