SiliconRepublic.com Ireland's Technology News Service

Cork office development may create jobs

The approval of a €200-million office development in Cork may potentially create 1,500 new jobs at what is now a vacant site between the Project Management building and the internal MahonPoint Shopping Centre road.

The development is to be marketed to multinational technology companies.

The City Council said it intends to grant permission for the project to the developer John Cleary.

QP awards contract to Kentz

Qatar Petroleum (QP) has awarded a multimillion-dollar contract to engineering company Kentz.

The contract is to provide engineering support services for QP’s offshore operations for plant change requests and engineering studies.

The scope of the project includes all engineering disciplines inclusive of process, mechanical, piping, structural, pipeline, electrical and instrumentation, said Kentz, which is based in Clonmel.

The project is expected to run for five years and commenced in November 2009.

Irish Software Association launches Irish Software Innovation Network

In an effort to stimulate the Irish software industry by bringing together software firms and third-level research institutes, the Irish Software Association (ISA) has launched the Irish Software Innovation Network (ISIN).

The network, which received Enterprise Ireland funding of €200,000, will be a free service to both the business and academic world looking to collaborate and share expertise.

Google mulls third-party apps store for businesses

Google is understood to be planning a third-party apps store for businesses, in a move that will bring the internet search giant in closer competition to Microsoft’s Azure platform,

The new Google store could arrive as early as March, with products from third-party developers available as add-ons to Google’s office productivity software suite, reports have said.

The store will allow Gmail and Google Docs users to purchase add-ons for niche features that are too specialised to be included in the mainstream Google Apps.