Outstanding Contribution to Ireland - 2009


Pioneering industry leadership
Since establishing a facility in Ireland in 1985  Microsoft Corporation has significantly contributed to  Ireland’s progress and development.

This year Microsoft  is awarded and acknowledged for the tremendous contribution the US corporation has made to Ireland,  it’s economy and its society over the past 25 years. Ireland has been a major beneficiary of Microsoft’s leadership worldwide over the past two and a half decades. Microsoft first opened its doors in Ireland in 1985 with a small manufacturing facility employing just over one hundred people. Since that time, Microsoft Ireland has grown to encompass four distinct operations at its campus in Sandyford in Dublin, employing over 1,200 full time employees. 

Its extensive Sandyford operation is one of the most significant pieces of foreign direct investment ever to come to Ireland, helping to pave the way for the economic success story that the country enjoyed during the prosperous 1990s.

Microsoft partners - the eco system of  the company - are understood to receive approximately €350m per year and for every €1 in revenue it makes in this country the local partners make about €8.

Microsoft is an integral part of the significant ICT sector in Ireland and takes an active role across a broad range of industry bodies including; ICT Ireland, the Irish Software Association; FIT (Fast-Track to IT), the Sales Institute  and the American Chamber of Commerce. Microsoft Ireland is consistently named as one of the best places to work, and has been widely recognized for its commitment to responsible leadership. Microsoft is consistently in the top 10 of that competition and was named as the Best Company to Work for in Ireland in 2009.

Microsoft won the Leadership category at the most recent 02 Ability Award and its partnership with Enable Ireland, which aims to help people with disabilities to live independently, access further education and get back into the workplace, was recognized as the "Best Community-based CSR Project" by Chambers Ireland. Microsoft’s employees are committed to volunteering with a range of partner organisaitons such as FIT, Enable Ireland, DICP and Special Olympics.

Microsoft is a leader in the educational space - Paul Rellis, Microsoft Ireland’s MD is Chair of the IT Education Advisory Body that recently presented a report to Minister for Education Batt O’Keeffe. As a result of that Group’s work, the Irish Government has announced that it will invest €150m on ICT in education over the next three years - something that will have a significant impact on Ireland’s ambitions to become a Smart Economy.

Microsoft has a number of educational programmes in place in Ireland which help to increase access to IT amongst pupils and teachers. These include Partners in Learning, Imagine Cup, Innovative Teachers and School of the Future.

As a recognised corporate leader in Ireland Microsoft consistently provides the time and resources of its senior leadership team so that they can engage in a meaningful way on the issues and challenges that the country currently faces. Microsoft invested in the creation of the National Productivity Centre with the IMI in order to help bring advice and guidance to the private and public sector on the issue of productivity. In recent months, Paul Rellis has been a strong advocate for the merits of the Smart Economy - he has been putting forward positive suggestions and real and implementable ideas about how that vision can become a reality.

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