EMC €20m investment ‘strategically important’ for new products

25 Jul 2008

The decision to create 50 new software development jobs at storage giant EMC’s operations in Cork is of great strategic importance to the company, especially in relation to its plans in the areas of virtualisation, data centre automation and new consolidated services.

The global head of human resources for EMC, Jack Mollen, told siliconrepublic.com:

“This is a very strategic decision for EMC and Ireland. It’s around creating software development positions over the next five years. These will be in a number of areas.

“We will have a number of positions in the operating systems, our large SIM products and software development in new efforts like data centre automation and the virtualisation of data centres. And we will also have software development in some of our advanced solutions.

“When we bring different products together, we will offer consolidated services, so there will be positions in those areas too. The investment touches on some very strategic things for EMC and also in an important space of software development, which is key to Ireland,” Mollen said.

The €20m investment is being rolled out with the support of IDA Ireland and will initially focus on software development for EMC’s storage systems and resource management software products.

EMC employs 1,600 people in Ovens in Cork, 90pc of whom hold third-level qualifications.

The Cork operation conducts manufacturing for EMC, as well as customer support, technical solutions and international finance.

“EMC is a key reference site for IDA in selling Ireland’s value proposition to other IT companies looking to invest here. EMC’s decision to make this R&D investment is a very significant commitment to Cork,” said the Minister for Foreign Affairs, Micheal Martin TD.

“The proposed up-skilling will strengthen the Oven’s Campus position to effectively compete for a broader range of future technologies within EMC, as this technical expertise develops and is enhanced on-site.

“Investment in R&D and innovation is at the centre of the Government’s policy for economic growth and this is excellent news from a highly innovative company,” Minister Martin added.

“The decision to make this R&D investment in Cork is in no small part due to the positive business experience EMC has had in Iireland since the establishment of its manufacturing facility in 1988, coupled with the quality and commitment of our workforce and the support of IDA Ireland and the Irish Government,” said Bob Savage, the vice president of EMC’s operations in Cork.

By John Kennedy

John Kennedy is a journalist who served as editor of Silicon Republic for 17 years

editorial@siliconrepublic.com