IBM today revealed that it is locating a global research and analysis institute in Blanchardstown as part of the €46m investment outlined last year that will create 300 jobs at its west Dublin campus.
IBM’s Global Institute for Business Value (IBV) works with bodies like the Economist Intelligence Unit and provides industry with research into 17 key sectors and business disciplines, including customer relationship management, human capital management, financial management, corporate strategy and supply chain management.
The institute has published more than 150 studies to date and its research is consumed by business leaders and CEOs.
Vice-president and global leader at the institute George Pohle told siliconrepublic.com that the IBV is an extension of IBM’s research capability but is focused on services rather than technology.
“We have an enormous consulting arm and this group is an industry-facing unit that is focused on the leading edge of how companies can change themselves rather than the leading edge of technology.”
A typical study conducted by the IBV, Pohle explained, would be an analysis on the state of the healthcare sector by 2015.
“A lot of our work would be utilised by the public sector, for example,” Pohle explained. He said the IBV also provides business guidance prior to widespread knowledge and adoption of new technologies.
Suzanne Dirks, head of economic development at the IBV, described the arrival of the IBV in Dublin as an extension of the €46m investment unveiled by IBM last summer. At the time the company said the investment would see growth in the company’s global supply chain operations, its business incubator operations as well as an increased focus on new technologies like SOA (service-oriented architecture) at its software lab.
Jim Cortada, team leader in charge of the public sector at the IBV, told siliconrepublic.com that one of the key reasons for locating the institute in Dublin was the sheer scale of growth in the Irish economy over the last 20 years. “It is remarkable when compared with other parts of the world.
“One of our main focus areas will be economic development and for our research we would like to collaborate with academics, government officials and members of industry who understand economic development. That knowledge is what has made Ireland very attractive to us,” Cortada said.
By John Kennedy
