IT Industry in Limerick?

um7y1h83ge06nx

I was thinking a bit today about the IT industry in Limerick, specifically Software Development.

In my opinion Limerick has fallen well behind the like of Dublin, Galway and Cork to a lesser extent in terms of IT opportunities. That said there does appear to be a few jobs always around, just pretty small in comparison to other areas. Also the opportunities for more senior positions is fewer too. It's pretty surprising that we don't have more going on seeing as we have strong third level institutes.

I started thinking about this as I'm considering buying THE family home with the finacee (getting old! ) and started thinking about future career prospects in this region.

Any opinions?

Silentcorner

Well if you want to buy into the narrative, then move.

But the reality is a little different, from an IT services point of view I believe Galway is well behind Limerick in terms of the sheer number of competitors, there are a number of Limerick companies operating in that market as it is underserviced (I am led to believe).

From a web development point of view, Galway is also well behind, there are very little dominant companies in Galway, but that could create opportunity.

You have to remember Limerick is still a lot bigger from a population, commercial and industrial basis than Galway is, despite the narrative.

Galway has been outperforming Limerick in the last 10 years from an FDI point of view, to the tune of perhaps 1,000-1,500 jobs but for the previous 30-40 years Limerick was out performing Galway by a distance, and I imagine Limerick is about to turn the tables on that one.

FDI is not the only gig in town, there are some massive employers in the region.

There is a reason why Limerick is and always has been one of the wealthiest areas in the country to this day. (that will shock some of you no doubt) http://www.independent.ie/business/personal-finance/disposable-income-finally-rises-but-only-in-dublin-30213663.html
and that is despite the high unemployement that was tolerated over the years.

Cork is very similar to Limerick, I would imagine if you want opportunity and money, Dublin is the only show in town, but that comes at a price!!!

Mr. G

Very few SD companies in Limerick, can't name very many.

You would find more in Galway, although I hear Dublin is the hub for SD, and then Cork

gihj

Silentcorner wrote: »

Well if you want to buy into the narrative, then move.

But the reality is a little different, from an IT services point of view I believe Galway is well behind Limerick in terms of the sheer number of competitors, there are a number of Limerick companies operating in that market as it is underserviced (I am led to believe).

From a web development point of view, Galway is also well behind, there are very little dominant companies in Galway, but that could create opportunity.

You have to remember Limerick is still a lot bigger from a population, commercial and industrial basis than Galway is, despite the narrative.

Galway has been outperforming Limerick in the last 10 years from an FDI point of view, to the tune of perhaps 1,000-1,500 jobs but for the previous 30-40 years Limerick was out performing Galway by a distance, and I imagine Limerick is about to turn the tables on that one.

FDI is not the only gig in town, there are some massive employers in the region.

There is a reason why Limerick is and always has been one of the wealthiest areas in the country to this day. (that will shock some of you no doubt) http://www.independent.ie/business/personal-finance/disposable-income-finally-rises-but-only-in-dublin-30213663.html
and that is despite the high unemployement that was tolerated over the years.

Cork is very similar to Limerick, I would imagine if you want opportunity and money, Dublin is the only show in town, but that comes at a price!!!

Are you serious???
Nowhere in this country comes close to Galway per capita in that game.
Even Dublin considering the population difference would struggle to compete with Galway man for man..
A month doesnt go by without another announcement in Galway.
Limerick is nowhere near either of the 2.

squonk

I'm not in Limerick all that long and haven't done serious job hunting here but, having lived in Galway for 3 years, there seem to eb a lot more 'high profile' SD companies up there. You have the likes of HP/Avaya/Fidelity that Limerick doesn't seem to have. Galway also has several game developers also. I'm not in the games dev segment so can't name them but they're they're there. I can't, straight off, name any high profile SD-centric comapnies in Limerick. I'd name more in Shannon tbh.

Thinking about myself, unless things change, it's more likely that if the day comes when I'm turfed out of my current employment, I might end up heading back to Galway.

um7y1h83ge06nx

I'd probably sit somewhere in the middle with the responses so far. I don't think things are as good as the most positive post and not as negative as the most negative post.

I suppose the highest profile company that has quite a bit of SD going out is Dell (they acquired a professional services company a few years back and have expanded that). After that there are a few companies below that level such as ACI, ChannelAdvisor and Martin Dawes Systems. Plenty of start-ups around. I do bemoan the fact that there isn't a whole bunch of household names in Limerick like Dublin and Galway.

I wouldn't expect that we could compete with Dublin given it's the capital and it's vastly bigger population but we should be much closer to Galway.

With UL and LIT around I'm very surprised that there isn't more happening around here. I hope the IDA get the finger out.

I love the Limerick area as a place to live, it has a decent amount of facilities without being too big, it's easy to get around and there are plenty of nice places close-by for day trips etc.

I guess it's a little indicative of the issues that Limerick faces with job creation when one of the healthiest industries isn't performing that well here.

Silentcorner

gihj wrote: »

Are you serious???
Nowhere in this country comes close to Galway per capita in that game.
Even Dublin considering the population difference would struggle to compete with Galway man for man..
A month doesnt go by without another announcement in Galway.
Limerick is nowhere near either of the 2.

Ya I am serious.

Be very wary of Software Development job announcements, for every 100 jobs announced (invariably they are over a 3-5yr period) you are lucky to see half of them. There is very little capital investment by these companies such is the nature of the industry, especially where FDI is concerned. There are companies in this particular sector that will come in for ten years and be gone just as quick, if someone is purchasing a house as a result of a perceived opportunity then it is only right that they are aware of the risks.

Software Development is a very broad area, and again it is my belief that the IT services and Web Development areas are permanent (moreso) and in that regard, this region has much more opportunity/potential....it is of course just my opinion.

Good luck with you decision OP.

keith_d99

Quincy Ugly Traffic wrote: »

I'd probably sit somewhere in the middle with the responses so far. I don't think things are as good as the most positive post and not as negative as the most negative post.

I suppose the highest profile company that has quite a bit of SD going out is Dell (they acquired a professional services company a few years back and have expanded that). After that there are a few companies below that level such as ACI, ChannelAdvisor and Martin Dawes Systems. Plenty of start-ups around. I do bemoan the fact that there isn't a whole bunch of household names in Limerick like Dublin and Galway.

I wouldn't expect that we could compete with Dublin given it's the capital and it's vastly bigger population but we should be much closer to Galway.

With UL and LIT around I'm very surprised that there isn't more happening around here. I hope the IDA get the finger out.

I love the Limerick area as a place to live, it has a decent amount of facilities without being too big, it's easy to get around and there are plenty of nice places close-by for day trips etc.

I guess it's a little indicative of the issues that Limerick faces with job creation when one of the healthiest industries isn't performing that well here.

Spot on there Quincy Ugly Traffic ... you are right it is somewhere in between.
With a decent road network, proximity to Shannon (and Heathrow flight back), reasonable rents, 2 colleges providing Computer Science grads - there should be a lot more software companies in the Limerick area!

Limerick seems to be way down the IDAs priority list