Liam Halpin, Dell Ireland country manager
The pursuit of solutions in megatrends like cloud, big data and real-time analytics is making Dell’s operations, which are spread between Dublin, Cork and Limerick in Ireland, veritable powerhouses of innovation for the technology giant, said Dell Ireland country manager Liam Halpin.
Dell employs 2,500 people across Ireland, Halpin said.
“From Cherrywood (in Dublin) we run a number of global and EMEA-based sales and support operations, and also EMEA finance,” Halpin said.
“Our Limerick facility is a global hub for logistics and also is responsible for application development and modernisation. It’s where we also run some of our business process outsourcing (BPO). In addition to that, Limerick is one of our 12 global solutions centres and we help customers with proofs of concept and trying out technology.
“We also, as a result of the recent Quest acquisition, have a facility in Cork.”
Cork is home to Dell Ireland’s EMEA Dell software group centre, which provides sales, R&D and finance support across EMEA.
“The Dell workforce in Ireland is 2,500 people in total and it’s a well-motivated workforce,” Halpin said.
Big data and analytics transform organisations
Halpin said key megatrends in the IT space that are driving Dell’s business in Ireland include big data, real-time analytics, business transformation and hybrid cloud technologies.
“The transformation of traditional data centres in to private or hybrid clouds is one megatrend.
“There’s also the trend of how well do you connect your employees? Not just onto the network, but how do you connect them together in terms of collaborating better. The next generation of employees are also looking to share information via social media.
“The next piece in the equation is big data, looking at business analytics and what you can do with the data, how you analyse it and make decisions in real-time.
“The final element is security. If your data is in several different locations and accessed via different devices, some of it within your corporate ownership and some of it is not, how do you ensure that the data is secure and you can meet regulatory requirements?
“These are the big trends we are seeing in the business at the moment. Whether it is a product, a service or a software proposition, we are aligning ourselves along these megatrends,” Halpin said.
Watch an interview with Dell Ireland country manager Liam Halpin here, where he talks about the latest enterprise technology trends:
Liam Halpin will be a panelist at the Digital Ireland Forum: Global 2.0 on 20 September in Dublin, where digital leaders will discuss Ireland’s future as a hub for the best in internationally traded digital services.
