Ireland’s Online Business Information Landscape:

A New Model for Success

Shaun Gavigan BA, MA

Farmleigh Fellowship / MBS Asian Business

Supervisor: Professor Neil Collins

National University of Ireland, Cork

13th December 2013

2

TABLE OF CONTENTS

ABSTRACT

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

INTRODUCTION……………………………………………………………………...

5

CHAPTER 1: ONLINE INFORMATION MANAGEMENT: THE CHALLENGE…..…..…….. 7

CHAPTER 2: IRELAND’S BUSINESS INFORMATION LANDSCAPE: AN OVERVIEW.......

11

CHAPTER 3: AN ALTERNATIVE MODEL: BUSINESS INFORMATION IRELAND............

CHAPTER 4: LANDSCAPE OF THE FUTURE...............................................................

17

23

CONCLUSION.........................................................................................................

28

BIBLIOGRAPHY……………………………………………………………………… 30

APPENDIX I

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ABSTRACT

The age of information is increasingly challenging national governments to find

better ways to engage with its citizens. The generation, integration, presentation of

information and the issue of accessibility to this information are all of paramount

importance in this new environment. This is particularly the case in the world of

business, where access to relevant and accurate information can often be the

difference between success and failure. To date, Ireland’s e-government services

have failed to adequately leverage its online business information resources. The

country is at a competitive disadvantage as a result of its weak information

management structures. The solution is the development of a new model, an

integrated and comprehensive business information web portal.

4

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

The author would like to thank the entire staff of Ireland House Singapore for their

support during my placement with IDA Ireland. In particular, I would like to thank

Ambassador Joe Hayes, Mr. Micheal Smith and Mrs. Smruti Inamdar.

I wish to acknowledge staff members of University College Cork for their academic

support throughout the year and in particular Dr. Kevin Cawley. I would also like to

express my thanks for the support of my classmates and in particular Mr. Fiachra

Mullen for his assistance in the development of this project.

The author would also like to extend a special thanks to my supervisor Dr. Neil

Collins for his excellent guidance throughout the research process and in the

writing of this paper.

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Introduction

“Man in the electronic age has no possible environment except the globe and no

possible occupation except information-gathering”1 Marshall McLuhan

In the new age of information, the official institutions of nation-states face

some stark challenges. Tied to definite geographical boundaries, nation states are

increasingly struggling to find solutions to a variety of problems that are borderless

in nature and whose ultimate resolution will come only through multinational

cooperation. However, while these individual states will always struggle to view the

locus of their obligations and responsibilities as being global, several do appear to

be beginning to confront some of the bounded challenges presented by this new

age.

When discussing the very complicated issue of information management,

theorists disagree about many things but there is a degree of consensus that, in the

transition from the “age of information” to the “the age of wisdom”, it will be those

with the greatest ability to interpret information that are the most likely to prosper.

Taking up McLuhan’s challenge, it does appear to be the case that an increasing

number of countries are beginning to understand the key role information-

gathering and information-integration will play as each attempts to prosper in this

new environment.

Before enterprises are established, before they have the opportunity to

prosper and before they encounter their first major challenges, it is imperative that

at each stage they have access to the most up-to-date, accurate and relevant

information related to their specific industrial sector. For national governments, the

opportunity to add greatest value for its citizens and resident businesses arises at

the information generating, gathering and sharing phase and it these

considerations that are the primary focus of the following discussion.

In this paper, I will offer an examination of Ireland’s online business

information landscape and suggest the establishment of an alternative model that

will better serve key stakeholders in the age of information. The new model that I

1 Marshall McLuhan, "The Agenbite of Outwit," Faculty of Arts & Science, University of Toronto,

http://projects.chass.utoronto.ca/mcluhan-studies/v1_iss2/1_2art6.htm. Accessed 22/11/2013

6

envision being established will see the creation of Ireland’s first comprehensive and

truly integrated online business information resource.

Ireland is a country that sells itself on its reputation as a place in which to do

business. Although it is a small country with limited resources, Ireland has a

relatively large and atomised public sector with weak information sharing between

the key bodies responsible for the production and distribution of business

information.

This new initiative complements Ireland’s burgeoning reputation as a

technological hub2 and will help situate the country as among the world’s most

dynamic countries in this sphere. When we consider that the key occupation of the

age of information is “information-gathering”, by fully leveraging existing resources

this new model will radically transform the existing landscape and provide the

country with a major competitive advantage.

In the first section of this paper, I offer an analysis of the literature

examining best practices in the field of information management as it applies to

business information web portals. In the second section, I will present an overview

of Ireland’s current online business information landscape and examine the

strengths and weaknesses of key online business information resources. In the third

section, I will advance an alternative model for the online presentation of Ireland’s

business information. This section will include a detailed discussion of Business

Information Ireland (BII), a new initiative to establish a one-stop-shop for all

business information queries. In the fourth and final section, I will provide details of

some of the challenges to the development of this new model and offer an

assessment of the possible future direction of Ireland’s e-government policy as it

applies to the best use of business information resources.

2 IDA Ireland, "Ireland Is Becoming the Internet Capital of Europe," (2013).

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1. Online Information Management: The Challenge

The concern of this paper is to identify the nature of Ireland’s online

business information infrastructure and to question whether an alternative model

might be developed to supplement the current resources available to end-users.

Effective information management will play a vital role in Ireland continuing

to attract an ever increasing amount of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI), develop

high-growth start-ups, instil an entrepreneurial spirit in the domestic business

community and connect with the Global Irish Network (GIN). To achieve a

competitive advantage in each of the abovementioned areas, it will be necessary

for Ireland to effectively leverage all of its information resources.3

When one considers that an effective online business information

infrastructure is one that is closely aligned to the informational needs and practices

of users,4 the question needs to be asked, how effective is Ireland’s e-government

resources in serving the needs of the Irish business community? Before offering an

answer to this question, it is necessary to present a brief overview of some of the

key terms that form a key part of this discussion.

E-government

Business information websites and web portals, key concerns of this paper,

represent a subset within the overarching framework of e-government. This

starting point is less useful than one might hope when one considers that “there is

not any universally accepted definition of the e-government concept”.5 However,

the more important question, and one that offers somewhat of a more solid

foundation for this discussion can be found when we ask, what is the essential

function of this concept of e-government?

It is generally understood that effective, efficient and reliable government

services delivered through electronic means holds out the possibility of improving

engagement with citizens, encouraging collaboration between state agencies, 3 Paul Phillips, "Business Information Portals: Pros and Cons,"

www.computerweekly.com/feature/Business-Information-Portals-pros-and-cons. Accessed 22/11/2013 4 Brian Detlor, "The Corporate Portal as Information Infrastructure: Towards a Framework for Portal

Design," International Journal of Information Management 20, no. 2 (2000). p.91 5 Mete Yildiz, "E-Government Research: Reviewing the Literature, Limitations, and Ways Forward,"

Government Information Quarterly 24(2007). p.650

8

increasing productivity, delivering better services and overall, leading to better

policy outcomes.6 This understanding of the purpose behind the concept of e-

government allows us to appreciate why so many national governments have

chosen to embrace the idea over the past decade and half.

Web Portals

At this point, it is also necessary to introduce the concept of web portals,

the central concern of this paper. Given the difficulty in finding an agreed definition

for the broader concept of e-government, it should, therefore, be no surprise that

academics and IT practitioners have found it equally difficult to pin down definitive

characterizes of web portals. While no clear definition can be identified within the

literature, there are several shared precepts or classifications that facilitate a better

understanding of the concept.

A succinct definition that proves helpful is provided by Heila Pienaarin in the

paper Design and Development of an Academic Portal. This paper describes a web

portal as “a website for a specific audience that aggregates an array of content and

provides a variety of services including search engines, directories, news, email and

chat rooms”.7

Web portals are generally understood to consist of two clear dimensions.

The first dimension sees them function as a way of collecting information from

multiple sources and the establishment of an information hub. This view classifies

web portals as evolved content managers. The second perspective classifies web

portals as playing a role in integrating processes and applications across

organizational boundaries. As this paper plans to concentrate on the online

business resources of an individual country, this discussion will be entirely

concerned with the first perspective of web portals, namely their functioning as

information hubs.8

It is possible then to understand the purpose of e-government as acting as

an effective tool for delivering government services and web portals as hubs,

bringing information together from diverse locations. Building on these quite simple 6 A.S. Drigas, L.G. Koukianakis & Y.V. Papagerasimou. "An E-Government Web Portal." WEAS

Transactions on Environment and Development 1, no. 1 (2005 2005). p. 150 7 Heila Pienaar, "Design and Development of an Academic Portal," Libri 53(2003). p. 118

8 M.A.I. Goni, “Designing of Portlet-based Web Portals,”

www.ehu.es/argitalpenak/images ...y... tesis-Arant a Irastor a.pdf. Accessed 26/11/2013.

9

starting points, it might be possible to offer some insights into the effectiveness of

Ireland’s existing online business information infrastructure. However, before

beginning this examination, it is necessary to take one further step, specifically to

identify a set of established criteria that can be used in order to discover what

represents best practice in this field.

The majority of the literature covering the topic of online information

management as it applies to country information portals is most concerned with

the outcome of existing initiatives and primarily focuses on making suggestions for

improvements in line with new technological innovations. However, several papers

examining this issue also offer individual sets of best practices that should be

followed. Given that the primary concern of this paper is to assess the quality of

information resources from an end-user perspective, the paper Measuring Users'

Perceived Portal Service Quality: An Empirical Study,9 offers the most relevant and

straightforward set of criteria that can be used to judge the functionality of

Ireland’s online business information resources.

In assessing web-based service quality, nine measurement variables are

identified. These are convenience, empathy, ease of use, information quality, fun,

reliability, responsiveness, accessibility and other criteria.10

These variables are similar to criteria outlined in several other papers

covering the same issue including the four levels of website portal functionality as

outlined by Heila Pienaar’s in Design and Development of an Academic Portal,11

Zhiyuan Fang analysis of successful e-government projects in the paper E-

Government in Digital Era: Concept, Practice, and Development12and by Jon and

Diana Gant in their article Web Portal Functionality and State Government E-

Service.13

9 Tsuang Kuo et al, "Measuring Users' Perceived Portal Service Quality: An Empirical Study," Total

Quality Management & Business Excellence 16, no. 3 (2005). 10

Ibid. A full description of each criterion is outlined between p. 311 – 313 11

Pienaar, "Design and Development of an Academic Portal." p. 120 12

Zhiyuan Fang, "E-Government in Digital Era: Concept, Practice, and Development " International Journal of The Computer, The Internet and Management 10, no. 2 (2002). p. 12 13

Jon P. Gant and Diana Burley Gant, "Web Portal Functionality and State Government E-Service " in 35th Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences (Hawaii 2002). p. 2

10

Business information

Before offering an examination of Ireland’s online business information

resources, it is important to outline what exactly is included within the broad

heading of “business information” and why exactly having access to such

information is so important.

The type of information an individual businesses will be most interested in

will vary depending on a number of variables. While internal information may be all

that matters for some companies, the success of others may hinge on the

availability of information about competitor companies. Others still may depend on

being kept up-to-date on the very latest changes to government policies or industry

regulations. Most companies, however, are interested in a very broad scope of

information types, with each information resource used to make important

decisions about specific parts of a company’s operations. As Evans notes “every

business is an information business”.14

In the following discussion about “business information,” this paper will take

a very broad understanding of what constitutes relevant resources that

businesspeople are interested in accessing in order to add value to their respective

companies. Resources that will be considered and included within this very broad

understanding include industry profiles, statistics, business supports, law and

regulatory environment, competitor information, the markets, commercial

databases and company directories.

In order for a company to have the opportunity to prosper, it will need to

have access to both general and industry-specific business information. For

entrepreneurs, information about competitors is vital if they are to discover

whether there is a gap in the market for a new idea or innovation. For a start-up, a

key challenge would be to identify information about supports available to

business. A multinational entering a new market might be most concerned about

issues surrounding compliance and, therefore, the most relevant business

information resources would be those that detailed the regulatory environment.

Information resources and accessibility to these resources is then clearly a vital

component of a country’s attractiveness as place in which to do business.

14

Philip Evans, Blown to Bits: How the New Economics of Information Transforms Strategy. Boston: Harvard Business Review Press, 2000. p. 9

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2. Ireland’s Business Information Landscape: An Overview

In advance of offering an assessment of Ireland leading online business

information resources using the best practices as outlined in Pienaar’s paper, it is

necessary to contextualise this analysis within general trends that can be identified

as currently taking place within discussions of e-government more generally.

E-government: General trends

A leading factor encouraging governments to look towards e-government

solutions is the fact that many countries have found that, despite high levels of

public expenditure, public services have failed to produce major efficiencies. It is

hoped and envisioned that these saving might be realised through the successful

rollout of an efficient digital information infrastructure.

A second related factor that needs to be considered is the growing

perception among many developed countries that the market is the best means of

delivering government services to its citizens. This perspective can be viewed in the

ever increasing number of public private partnership models that are being used to

deliver services that were once the preserve of the state.15

The final trend influencing the embrace of e-government initiatives is better

understanding among decision-makers of the value offered by information

technology. In the age of information, it is vital for governments in progressive

countries to embrace or to be seen to embrace new technological innovations that

promise to deliver the very best level of public services to their citizens.16

Existing Resources

The following analysis is a general assessment of the content of leading

websites judged against the criteria set out in Measuring Users' Perceived Portal

Service Quality: An Empirical Study. While an empirical study of the websites under

consideration would give added validity to this assessment, the purpose of this

undertaking is not to make empirically-based judgments about the merits of each

site but rather to identify informational voids that if addressed would improve the

end-user experience. In the absence of an existing official portal, the only way to

15

Graeme A. Hodge and Carsten Greve. (ed.) The Challenge of Public-Private Partnerships: Learning from International Experience. Cheltenham: Edward Elgar Publishing, 2005. p. 3 16

Gant, "Web Portal Functionality and State Government E-Service ". p. 2

12

clearly identify these informational voids is to examine the information hosted on

Ireland’s leading online resources on the basis of best practices as they apply to

web portals.

A major challenge in assessing Ireland’s online business information

infrastructure is the fact that key economic and business information it hosted in a

variety of locations. Among the multiple sources is information generated by The

Department of Finance (www.finance.gov.ie), The Department of Public

Expenditure and Reform (http://per.gov.ie), The Department of Jobs, Enterprise

and Innovation (www.enterprise.gov.ie), The Irish Fiscal Advisory Council

(www.fiscalcouncil.ie), The Central Bank of Ireland (www.centralbank.ie), Business

Access to State Information (www.basis.ie) and the National Treasury Management

Agency (www.ntma.ie).

The scope of this paper does not permit an exhaustive examination of each

unique business information resource, therefore, in order to offer an indicative

overview it will be possible only to offer a snapshot of the existing landscape. To

deliver this overview, this paper will make a concentrated assessment of three

leading sites that generate and manage business information for different types of

business end-users.

The three sites that will be examined are those of two state agencies

Enterprise Ireland (www.enterprise-ireland.com/en/) and IDA Ireland

(www.idaireland.com) and Ireland’s most high-profile commercial business

information portal, FinFacts Ireland (www.finfacts.ie). These sites can by no means

be considered to cover the majority of the information available across Ireland’s

very broad business information landscape but they do represent three of the most

prominent, high-profile and widely-accessed online resources.

Assessment

The following assessment measures each site’s performance against the

aforementioned best practices of web portals. Each site is assessed as having a

strong, moderate or weak performance when measured against the key criteria of

each best practice.

13

IDA Ireland Enterprise Ireland FinFacts

Convenience

(time saving, effort

saving and

accessibility)

Strong: Hosts a wealth of

information related to

its core function of

showcasing Ireland as an

investment location

Strong: Website hosts a

great deal of

information of interest

to Irish enterprises

interested in expanding

into global markets

Strong: Collates a

great deal of

information from

other business

websites

Empathy

(care and attention

to the needs of the

customer)

Moderate: Effort to

present specific

information for

individual sectors

Moderate: Strong

attempt to host

information related to

individual customers

Moderate:

Information, while

freely available, is

difficult to identify

and access

Ease of Use

(good learning

environment)

Strong: Thoughtful and

logical presentation of

information

Moderate: Poor design

and interface

undermine efforts to

host a strong learning

environment

Weak: Interface is

very poorly designed

and leads to a poor

user experience

Fun

(enjoyable and

attractive features)

Moderate: Some

innovative and

imaginative use of IT

features and marketing

material

Weak: A very staid and

functional appearance

undermines motivation

to explore site in

greater detail

Weak: No special

features and little

innovative use of IT

Reliability

(dependable and

trustworthy)

Strong: Internally

generated information

hosted on reliable site.

Strong: Up to date and

reliable information

hosted on secure site

Weak: Poor

transparency and very

strong editorial

element. No evidence

to suggest site is not

secure

Responsiveness

(bespoke and quick

email responses)

Would require further

empirical study

Would require further

empirical study

Would require further

empirical study

14

Accessibility

(speed)

Strong: Easy and quick to

access

Strong: Easy and quick

to access

Strong: Easy and quick

to access

Other Criteria

(e.g. freedom and

control)

Weak: Static website

with no interactive

elements

Weak: Static website

with no interactive

elements

Moderate: Some

degree of information

integration and

premium service

provides greater

personal control

Overview

IDA Ireland: The website of Ireland’s investment promotion agency is quite

impressive. It has an extremely professional appearance and hosts a variety of very

strong features.

Enterprise Ireland: The design of this website is quite weak and the user

experience is quite poor as a result. Despite its very weak usability, the site hosts a

great deal of information associated with its core function and for consumption by

existing and prospective clients.

FinFacts Ireland: At its most effective when acting as a collator of business

news information. Commercial concerns and its strong editorial stance prevent it

from acting as a hub for objective business information. The site also has a

particularly poor interface that acts to further diminish its utility for individuals

interested in discovering more about doing business in Ireland.

Comprehensive and integrated information

In addition to the nine best practices as set out in the discussion above, it is

clear that an additional feature of an effective business information website is for it

to be both integrated and comprehensive. These additional features are critical

elements upon which to judge the relative merits of the existing online resources.

The above assessment of Ireland’s three leading online business information

resources highlight several informational voids, however, it is the fundamental lack

of integration and the absence of a comprehensive and all-inclusive site hosting all

15

relevant information that is the most important observation that needs to be

noted.

Ireland’s current business information landscape is characterized by the

generation and hosting of information within state, semi-state and commercial

silos. The information management systems of the country’s investment and

enterprise promotion agencies are functional in that they serve their targeted end-

users; however, there appears to be exceptionably low sharing of information

between agencies. More fundamentally, no central comprehensive resource serves

users that fall outside the narrow target audiences of either Enterprise Ireland, IDA

Ireland or other state and semi-state bodies.

It should be explained that a major factor that has contributed to the

generation of several information resources but no central hub is Ireland’s

somewhat unusual semi-state structure when it comes to business and investment

promotion. The division of state enterprise encouragement functions and

investment promotion functions, as is the case with Enterprise Ireland and IDA

Ireland, is not the typical structure among other leading western countries.17 While

this structure has served Ireland well, particularly in recent years, it goes some way

to explaining the atomised creation and presentation of business information. It

also explains why countries at the same stage of e-government development

typically have better information management processes in place that those in

Ireland.

An additional obstacle that currently impedes users from accessing

information also needs to be mentioned at this juncture. It is evidently the case that

the process of identifying the source and location of specific information requires

quite a sophisticated understanding of Ireland’s state bodies, semi-state agencies,

business representative bodies and private companies. A new model of information

management would be one that would allow people without a strong knowledge of

Irish government and non-government institutions to easily access and utilize

sought after information.

17

The structure of Ireland semi-state agencies can be contrasted with that of it closest neighbor in the nited ingdom. The Trade Investment www.uk .gov.uk ) organization fully integrates investment and enterprise functions.

16

This absence of a truly integrated and comprehensive online business

information resource also puts Ireland at a disadvantage vis-à-vis other competitor

countries. Several countries have already established dedicated business

information portals,18 arguably the most impressive of which is that hosted in

support of doing business in Germany.

http://www.ixpos.de/IXPOS/Navigation/EN/your-business-in-germany.html.19

As well as placing Ireland on the same footing as competitor countries, a

comprehensive web portal would have other additional benefits. One benefit of

embracing the concept would be that the idea fits perfectly with the current

promotional strategies employed by the country’s state agencies that market

Ireland as a dynamic and tech-savvy destination. Creating the world’s leading

country business information portal would further strengthen the idea of Ireland as

the “internet capital of Europe” and Dublin’s “Digital Docklands” as amongst the

most dynamic technology locations in the world. The digital reputation of Irish state

and semi-state agencies does not currently match that of the country’s leading

private enterprise and multinational companies. Developing a comprehensive and

integrated information web portal that would address the needs of multiple users

would also be practical evidence of Ireland’s dynamism in the ICT and digital sphere

and add to Ireland’s reputation as one of world’s easiest places in which to do

business.

This discussion has clearly identified weaknesses in Ireland’s online business

information infrastructure. In addition, some arguments have also been posited for

the benefits that would arise out of the establishment of a comprehensive business

information portal. The question has now been posed as to how Ireland can begin

to make the very most of its informational resources and confront the challenges

presented by the age of information? A proposed answer to this question will be

advanced in the following section that argues for the adoption of a new online

business information model.

18

Web portals of individual countries vary greatly in their scope. Despite their variety each serves a specific purpose within their respective countries. Examples of effective business information portals are those hosted in Portugal (www.portaldaempresa.pt/CVE/en) and Luxembourg (http://www.guichet.public.lu/entreprises/en/). 19

iXPOS: The German Business Portal, http://www.ixpos.de/IXPOS/Navigation/EN/your-business-in-germany.html.

17

3. An Alternative Model: Business Information Ireland

The new model that I posit as an alternative solution is named Business

Information Ireland (BII). This new site is envisioned as a web portal that has

complete system integration across the relevant Irish state agencies and all

generators of unique business information. In design, this comprehensive business

information hub would incorporate all the best practices of existing successful

business portals. Supported by key state, semi-state and business partners this

website would act as one-stop-shop for all parties interested in identifying relevant,

accurate and up-to-date information about Ireland’s business environment.

Ownership

The BII project is currently in the very early stages of development. The

concept is being designed as an information management solution and following

further development will be presented to key state and semi-state stakeholders in

order to access their interest in adopting the project.

Despite the fact that the economies of Ireland and Northern Ireland are very

different, there is scope for the project to be developed on an all-Ireland basis.

Developed in this way, the initiative could help to promote greater understanding

of the core strengths and weaknesses of the economies north and south of the

border and could encourage greater business exchanges between the two

jurisdictions.

Should state agencies not be interested in embracing the idea, it is possible

that the concept may be developed as a commercial concern. Given the nature of

the project, it should be expected that private enterprise would be interested in

offering consultation or web development services for a reduced cost or may in fact

be interested in sponsoring the project.

The possibility also exists of a partnership being developed with a leading

third-level Irish institution that might be interested in developing the project as part

of its existing curriculum.

Best practices

The first challenge of this new initiative is to identify how the portal would

deliver upon the best practices as outlined in the previous section of this paper.

18

Business Information Ireland

Convenience The bringing together of relevant information from multiple resources would mean

that this new portal would act as an effective time-saving device and massively

assist in improving accessibility to the most up-to-date and accurate information.

Empathy The generation of individual industry fact-sheets will create a new unique resource

that will provide users with unparalleled access to comprehensive information

presented in a clear and concise way.

Ease of Use Due to the amount of information that will be hosted on the site, the design of the

portal and the way in which information will be presented is arguably the most

important element of the entire project. The BII site will be designed in line with

best practices but with the preferences of end-users the key consideration.

Fun Where possible, information including statistics will be presented in an interesting

and dynamic way. The usability and convenience of the site will also ensure repeat

visits.

Reliability The BII website will succeed or fail on the basis of the level of trust it engenders

with users. As the site’s raison d'être is the presentation of comprehensive and

impartial information, its success is closely tied to its perceived trustworthiness

and dependability.

Responsiveness In order to identify user preferences, customer inputs will form a major part of the

site, particularly during its initial development. It is envisioned that the site will

continue to work closely with users to continually improve the functionality and

usability. User feedback will also be vital in identifying business information

resources that will be brought under the umbrella of the site.

Accessibility The BII site will be designed in line with best practices and its ease of use and

speed will match that of exiting information resources.

Other Criteria Similar to the other resources that are currently available, the BII site will host

static information, and at least initially with not include any interactive elements.

However, as the site develops it will be well placed to embrace next technological

and technical innovations that will improve the end-user experience.

19

Scope and Ethos

Unlike the websites of the semi-state bodies Enterprise Ireland and IDA

Ireland, the BII website will not contain any promotional content. At all

times, information will be presented in an objective and accessible way.

BII will not seek to replicate information that is already presented in a

comprehensive and accessible way by another complementary body e.g.

Citizens Information Board (www.citizensinformation.ie) and Business

Access to State Information (www.basis.ie).

The creation of factsheets on Ireland’s key business strengths is a key

element of the concept. These reports represent a clear solution to an

existing information void in the current business information landscape. An

example of an industry factsheet is presented in Appendix I.

The BII portal will not host a rolling business news information section e.g.

newspaper links, news feeds, social media etc. This service is already

provided by several services, most notably FinFacts Ireland. However, the BII

will host links to such services.

Content

The table below outlines details of some of the content that will be hosted

on the BII web portal.

Marketplace Ireland Economy Business Sectors Doing Business in Ireland

An Introduction to Ireland

Facts and Figures

Economic history and

development

Politics and society

Business Environment -

Overview of key strengths

and country comparisons

Key facts & figures

e.g. GDP, employment

etc.

All recent information

and list of upcoming

releases

User friendly trends

and graph

21 sector

classifications further

divided in subsectors

Detailed factsheets on

each of Ireland’s core

business sectors

Company listings, i.e.

Top 1000, IDA and EI

clients companies

Key partners: Role of

state agencies

Setting up a business in

Ireland

Basic information on laws

and regulations including

links to relevant

authorities

Additional website features: Statistics centre, R&D in Ireland, business incentives, exhibitions and

conferences, regulatory environment and business resources.

20

Website appearance

A website mock-up of the type of design being considered for the homepage

of BII is presented below.

Branding

The proposed portal name of Business Information Ireland is literal and to

the point. The site will be reachable through either bii.ie or

businessinformationireland.com with both domains already registered.

In an increasingly busy and competitive online space, this name will be

instantly recognizable as a potentially valuable resource for individuals to further

understand Ireland's business and economic environment.

In creating the portal

logo, the design embraces

professional simplicity. The

image will complement, rather

than overshadow, the content of

21

the website. In this design, Ireland is represented as a grid of interconnected nodes

- symbolizing both the well-developed ICT network within the country as well as the

importance of the digital information available on the site. The Celtic green

background ensures consistency with brand Ireland as it is known around the

world.

Benefits

It should be self-evident that the BII portal structure would represent a

much improved user experience for business people, entrepreneurs, state and

semi-state bodies, industry representative bodies, researchers and students. There

are multiple examples of how these types of comprehensive and integrated web

portals offer additional value and benefits to users over and above what is available

through the multitude of sites that currently represent Ireland business information

infrastructure.

The scope of this paper does not permit an exhaustive examination of the

multiple benefits of this new model but for illustrative purposes, one example will

be highlighted, namely how this model works to improve engagement with the

Global Irish Network and members of the Irish Diaspora.

Example

An expatriate Irish financial services professional working in Dubai makes

contact or strikes up a friendship with a local businessperson interested in investing

in the film industry. Although interested in showcasing Ireland as an option, this

Irish professional is unlikely to have either the time or the expertise to identify all

the relevant information about Ireland’s strengths in this sector.

In order to put together a memo or report that might garner the investor’s

interest, the Irish person would currently have to access multiple information

sources, such as the Irish Film Board, Animation Ireland, the Revenue

Commissioners and the Irish Film & Television Network. The challenge in putting

together a comprehensive overview of the sector would be further complicated

should the individual in question not have a strong understanding of Ireland’s

existing information resources.

With BII in place, this Irish national would be able to identify all relevant

information in one location. Two clicks on the BII website and s/he would have

22

access to everything one needs to know including Ireland’s tax breaks for film,

studio profiles, representative bodies lists, success stories, industry events etc.

Outcomes

Several projected benefits are expected to emerge as a result of the

successful implementation of the project. These include to

- Improve Ireland’s profile as a leading destination to do business.

- Create a one-stop shop for all business enquires. Revealing duplication and

introducing efficiencies in the creation and presentation of publically

available information.

- Put Ireland on the same footing as competitor countries that already have

similar resources in place.

- Provide an additional support mechanism for the Global Irish Network to

make a positive contribution to the Irish economy.

- Offer evidence that the Irish state is engaged with the ICT industry and is at

the forefront of digital innovation.

23

4. Landscape of the Future

Ireland is not unique in having a suboptimal online business information

landscape. Indeed, within the literature on the development of state government e-

services, Ireland’s online infrastructure appears to have grown along similar lines to

those in other jurisdictions. Until very recently, governments have “developed their

web presence on an agency-by-agency basis with little tendency to develop an

integrated website that linked state resources to a central location”.20 The

construction of these stand-alone sites allowed the quick creation of information

resources but it was also to the detriment of delivering comprehensive and

effective e-government services, particularly in the sphere of business information.

The earlier analysis of the websites of Enterprise Ireland and IDA clearly show

Ireland has a very atomised digital information landscape. The question should then

be asked as to the future development of this landscape and to whether any

existing or new resources are likely to develop in a way similar to the BII model.

State and stage agencies

In the absence of an extreme (and at present unlikely) initiative, such as the

merging of the functions of IDA Ireland and Enterprise Ireland, there appears to be

little or no possibility that a comprehensive business information web portal will

emerge from the semi-state sector. Given the clear roles of each agency and the

lack of a crossover in their respective functions, there is little motivation for either

agency to dramatically transform or expand its existing website. It also appear clear

that neither agency will take the initiative, or be tasked with, developing a separate

information resource to the ones currently in place, that to a greater or lesser

extent, serve the needs of its core users

Separately, there is no indication that the Irish government is in any way

inclined to develop a new comprehensive online business information resource.

This is despite the fact that politicians, government departments and senior civil

servants are very much aware of the potential of web portals. Evidence to support

this assertion is the establishment of the WorldIrish.com website. Showcased at the

Global Irish Economic Forum in 2011, the site aimed to act as a web portal and to

20

Gant, "Web Portal Functionality and State Government E-Service ". p. 1

24

harness the power of social networks to develop a comprehensive resource for

Ireland’s online community based across the world.21

Commercial alternatives

Considering the fact that neither the state nor the country’s leading semi-

state bodies appear interested in developing the new concept in the short term, is

it possible that an existing commercial enterprise might embrace the idea? The

most obvious candidate would be for FinFacts Ireland to expand its current offering

and develop a truly comprehensive resource that would act as one-stop-shop for

queries. Although the development of an improved Finfacts Ireland website would

unquestionably gain additional users, it is equally apparent that without a

fundamental re-think of the site’s ethos; this growth would quickly grind to a halt.

The site’s editorial slant, its lack of objectivity and its lack of transparency all

suggest that without a complete transformation, any new Finfacts Ireland

incarnation would still not be a match for the new BII model

An alternative scenario is the embrace of this idea by a leading legal firm

operating in the Irish market. Several companies have a strong interest in winning

business from MNCs and high-growth domestic firms and an individual firm may

see an opportunity to sponsor the development of a comprehensive business

information portal as a means of promoting its expertise to prospective clients. If

such a project were to be developed, question marks would once again have to be

raised about the objectivity of such a web portal. However, if imaginatively

designed and marketed appropriately, a site such as this would appear to fit into

the new alternative model being suggested by this paper.

Based on the discussion above, there appears to be little standing in the way

of the successful development of the new model as articulated in the BII concept.

Several arguments have been posited for the desirability and more importantly, the

necessity of establishing such a site but to date the discussion has not assessed the

challenges to the successful realisation of the project. Several of the most

prominent challenges that stand in the way of the realisation of the project are

addressed in the following discussion.

21

Nick Webb, "Mccolgan's Worldirish Aims to Raise Funds as Growth Rockets," Sunday Independent 16/12/2012.

25

Challenges

IT infrastructure and innovation

In the literature, the stages of e-government development are typically

broken into four distinct phases. These stages can be described as web presence,

interaction, transaction and transformation.22 Ireland’s business e-services can be

understood to have stagnated at the transition phase and it has yet to reach the

transformation phase that encompasses “redefining the delivery of government

services by providing a single point of contact to citizens that makes government

completely transparent to citizens and businesses”.23

While there is a strong argument for the establsihment of a new website

that would act a central hub for all relevant information related to Ireland’s

business environment, it may well be the case that the exact nature of this much

required resource will take on a very different character to that outlined as part of

the BII initiative.

The BII model is one that will host static information and, at least initially,

will have very limited interactive applications. In this way it is quite similar to

existing information resources. The static nature of the BII site means that this new

model will not be a progressive or innovative improvement on IT solutions that are

already being used to host and manage existing Irish business information

resources. Over the coming years it will unquestionably be the case that new

technological innovations will introduce improved information management

systems that will improve on what is currently in place.

The rapid development of ICT has led to the development of “an

environment characterized by demand for timely delivery of information and

services and a requirement for ready access constantly.”24 When we consider the

practical implications of this trend, it appears to be the case that technological

innovation does not rule out the need to develop the BII web portal but actually

points to the urgency for its successful implementation. Major technical and

technological innovations will continue to come on stream over the coming years

22

Vishanth Weerakkody et al, "Realising T-Government: A Uk Local Authority Perspective" (paper presented at the Fifth International Conference on Electronic Government, 2007). p.333 23

Ibid. p.332 24

L.G. Koukianakis & Y.V. Papagerasimou A.S. Drigas, "An E-Government Web Portal," WEAS Transactions on Environment and Development 1, no. 1 (2005).p. 150

26

but given the fact that BII will at that juncture host Ireland’s largest business

dataset, and will have the widest user base among similar sites, the new web portal

would appear to be the ideal vehicle through which to introduce new tech

solutions.

Role of state agencies

The BII model would unquestionably benefit from the buy-in of all Ireland’s

leading state and semi-state bodies. This is particularly the case in the early part of

the site’s development. However, gaining this support is much easier said than

done. As already noted, a major motivation for the development of this new

information hub is the fact that business information is currently created and

managed in silos. In the absence of a major government initiative or a major

technological innovation in information management systems, it appears unlikely

that existing information silos will be busted any time soon. That said, as Ireland

transitions to the “transformation phase” of e-government it has been noted that it

will be necessary for “different participating agencies (to) collaborate, streamline

their business processes and integrate systems that have been historically

fragmented”.25 This would suggest that as e-government solutions continue to

develop, it should be expected that greater collaboration between Ireland’s leading

state and semi-state agencies will begin to take place.

The challenge of gaining buy-in from each relevant state agency represents

the most significant obstacle to the successful implementation of the BII model.

However, the uncertainty surrounding this issue does not negate the necessity for

the establishment of the project. Although the assistance of agencies including

Enterprise Ireland and IDA Ireland would expedite the development of the project,

their involvement is not critical to the portal’s initial establishment. Indeed, semi-

state non-cooperation does not challenge the viability of the project but would

rather have a detrimental impact on the management of the hub.

A separate argument in support of the development of the new model is the

fact that it is likely to expose clear areas of duplication within the various agencies

and will identify opportunities in which saving can be achieved. Once the utility of

the new concept has been clearly demonstrated, it would appear that state

25

Vishanth Weerakkody et al, "Realising T-Government: A Uk Local Authority Perspective." p. 333

27

agencies would have much to gain by offering full support to this new information

resource.

An interim solution

Weak technical sophistication, the challenge presented by IT innovations

and the ability to gain stakeholder buy-in might each be pointed to as strong

arguments to suggest that the BII model is unlikely to develop into Ireland leading

business information resource. However, it should be clear that both the necessity

and desirability for the project’s development clearly trump these challenges. For

any number of reasons, BII may not develop as envisioned, however, the very act of

establishing the project will expose fundamental flaws in Ireland’s existing online

business information landscape. Developing the project will expose Ireland’s

current failure to adequately leverage existing resources to the benefit of end-users

and ultimately the Irish economy as a whole.

If not ultimately successful, the BII solution will point the way towards a

future solution. This solution may come in the form of improved collaboration,

systems integration (referred to in the literature as horizontal integration) or

indeed a major technological innovation. What is clear is that BII, even if not

successful in its own right, can act as a transitional arrangment that will ultimately

help plot the most effective path foward for Ireland’s e-governemnt services as it

moves into the transformation phase.

28

Conclusion

The word “portal” derives from the Latin word portale meaning “city gate”.

A key objective of this paper could be said to be in some way concerned with

bringing the word back to its original meaning. The establishment of a new web

portal, the central argument of this paper, is posited as a means of ultimately

encouraging greater business activity, with the new initiative envisioned as an

improved access point for individuals interested in doing business in Ireland.

This paper has argued that Ireland’s online business information resources

are insufficiently integrated and that the country needs to better leverage its

existing resources. I have shown that a new web portal concept represents a much

improved and comprehensive model and that it would have multiple positive

knock-on effects for the Irish business community and the economy more broadly.

While there are several clear challenges to the successful development of the

project, there are no obvious stumbling blocks to the establishment of the concept.

In the first section of this paper, I presented an overview of some key

concepts including e-government and web portals. As part of this discussion I also

outlined a set of best practices outlined in the literature that might be followed as

part of the development of a new online business information web portal.

The second section of this paper presented an overview of Ireland’s current

online business information landscape. This assessment of Ireland’s leading online

resources demonstrated that that country’s existing landscape fails to meet best

practices or address the exigencies of the digital information age.

In the third section of this paper, I presented an argument for the creation

of a new website portal that would act as the one-stop-shop for all online business

queries. I argued that the new solution in the form of the BII portal concept

represented a much improved resource and would result in many positive

outcomes for the Irish economy.

In the fourth and final section, I outlined several challenges to the

establishment of the new portal model. While several obstacles were identified, I

29

argued that the strength of the new concept made its development a worthwhile

and valuable initiative.

National governments face many new challenges in the age of information.

This paper has focussed on one of these challenges, namely that of providing better

mechanisms for citizens and businesses to access important business information.

“Government data is being put online to increase accountability, contribute

valuable information about the world, and to enable government, the country, and

the world to function more efficiently”.26 Ireland’s e-government services aim to do

exactly what Berners-Lee describes. What I have presented in this paper is what I

consider to be a more efficient and effective information management model that

will allow Ireland to deliver improved outcomes for its citizens, businesses and as a

consequence, the economy and the country as a whole.

26

Tim Berners-Lee, "Putting Government Data Online," (2009), http://www.w3.org/DesignIssues/GovData.html.

30

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Berners-Lee, Tim. "Putting Government Data Online." (2009). http://www.w3.org/DesignIssues/GovData.html. Calvin M.L Chan, YiMeng Lau, Shan L. Pan. "E-Government Implementation: A Macro Analysis of Singapore's E-Government Initiatives." Government Information Quarterly 25 (2008): 239 - 55. Collins, Heidi. Enterprise Knowledge Portals: Next-Generation Portal Solutions for Dynamic Information Access, Better Decision Making, and Maximum Results. New York: AMACOM Div American Mgmt Assn, 2003. Detlor, Brian. "The Corporate Portal as Information Infrastructure: Towards a Framework for Portal Design." International Journal of Information Management 20, no. 2 (2000): 91 - 101. Ding, Li et al. "Twc Logd: A Portal for Linked Open Government Data Ecosystems." Web Semantics: Science, Services and Agents on the World Wide Web 9 (2011): 325 - 33. Drigas, A.S., Koukianakis, L.G. and Papagerasimou, Y.V. "An E-Government Web Portal." WEAS Transactions on Environment and Development 1, no. 1 (2005 2005): 150 - 54. Enterprise Ireland. (website) http://www.enterprise-ireland.com/en/. Evans, P. Blown to Bits: How the New Economics of Information Transforms Strategy. Boston: Harvard Business Review Press, 2000. Fang, Zhiyuan. "E-Government in Digital Era: Concept, Practice, and Development ". International Journal of The Computer, The Internet and Management 10, no. 2 (2002): 1-22. Finfacts Ireland. (website) http://www.finfacts.ie/. Gant, Jon P. and Gant, Diana Burley. "Web Portal Functionality and State Government E-Service" In 35th Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences. Hawaii 2002. Gil-Garcia, J. Ramon et al. "Collaborative E-Government: Impediments and Benefits of Information-Sharing Projects in the Public Sector." European Journal of Information Systems 16 (2007): 121 - 33. M.A.I. Goni, “Designing of Portlet-based Web Portals,” www.ehu.es argitalpenak images ...y... tesis-Arant a Irastor a.pdf. Accessed 26/11/2013. Grönlund, Åke. Electronic Government: Design, Applications and Management.

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London: Idea Group Publishing, 2002. Halaris, Christos et al. "Classification and Synthesis of Quality Approaches in E-Government Services." Internet Research 17, no. 4 (2007): 378 - 401. Heijden, Hans van der. "Factors Influencing the Usage of Websites: The Case of a Generic Portal in the Netherlands." Information & Management 40, no. 6 (2003): 541 - 49. Hodge, G. A. and Greve, C. (ed.) The Challenge of Public-Private Partnerships: Learning from International Experience. Cheltenham: Edward Elgar Publishing, 2005. IDA Ireland. "Ireland Is Becoming the Internet Capital of Europe." 2013. Accessed 26/11/2013. IDA Ireland. (website) http://www.idaireland.com/. iXPOS: The German Business Portal http://www.ixpos.de/IXPOS/Navigation/EN/your-business-in-germany.html. Janssen, Marijn., Kuk, George and Wagenaar, Rene W. "A Survey of Web-Based Business Models for E-Government in the Netherlands." Government Information Quarterly 25 (2008): 202 - 20. Kennedy, Aileen., Coughlan, Joseph. and Kelleher, Carol. "Business Process Change in E-Government Projects: The Case of the Irish Land Registry." International Journal of e-government Research 6, no. 1 (2010): 9 - 22. Kuo, Tsuang et. al. "Measuring Users' Perceived Portal Service Quality: An Empirical Study." Total Quality Management & Business Excellence 16, no. 3 (2005): 309 - 20. Mayer-Schönberger, Viktor and Lazer, David. Governance and Information Technology: From Electronic Government to Information Government. Cambridge: The MIT Press, 2007. McLuhan, Marshall. "The Agenbite of Outwit" Faculty of Arts & Science, University of Toronto, http://projects.chass.utoronto.ca/mcluhan-studies/v1_iss2/1_2art6.htm. O’Hanley, Richard. "Building Knowledge Management Systems." Information Systems Management 19, no. 3 (2002): 32 - 40. O'Donnell, Orla., Boyle, R. and Timonen, Virpi. "Transformational Aspects of E-Government in Ireland: Issues to Be Addressed." Electronic Journal of e-Government 1, no. 1 (2003): 22 - 30. Papadomichelaki, Xenia et al. "A Review of Quality Dimensions in E-Government Services." Electronic Government 4084 (2006): 128 - 38.

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Phillips, Paul. "Business Information Portals: Pros and Cons." www.computerweekly.com/feature/Business-Information-Portals-pros-and-cons. Pienaar, Heila. "Design and Development of an Academic Portal." Libri 53 (2003): 118 - 29. Stewart, David W. and Zhao, Qin. "Internet Marketing, Business Models, and Public Policy." Journal of Public Policy & Marketing 19, no. 2 (2000): 287 - 96. Tatnall, Arthur (ed.) Web Portals: The New Gateways to Internet Information and Services. London: Idea Group Inc, 2005. Webb, Nick. "McColgan's Worldirish Aims to Raise Funds as Growth Rockets." Sunday Independent 16/12/2012. Weerakkody, Vishanth et al. "Realising T-Government: A UK Local Authority Perspective." Paper presented at the Fifth International Conference on Electronic Government, 2007. Yang, Zhilin et al. "Development and Validation of an Instrument to Measure User Perceived Service Quality of Information Presenting Web Portals." Information & Management 42, no. 4 (2005): 575 - 89. Yildiz, Mete. "E-Government Research: Reviewing the Literature, Limitations, and Ways Forward." Government Information Quarterly 24 (2007): 646 - 65. Zhou, Joe. "A History of Web Portals and Their Development in Libraries." Information Technology and Libraries 22, no. 3 (2003): 119.

33

Appendix I

The following document is an example of an individual industry factsheet that will

be developed as part of the BII project. The information included in this document

is extracted from multiple sources and the document should be considered for

indicative purposes only.

1

Interactive &

Digital Media

At a Glance

A burgeoning sector within the Irish

economy, the Interactive & Digital

Media industry is one of the great

recent success stories to emerge from

Ireland.

The sector consists of a variety of

activities that traverse several

industries including the

telecommunications, advertising and

the creative content industries. The

broad definition of what is

encompassed within this sector

includes many aspects of the

information society including all

creative digital media be it from

audio, visual and textual information

sources.

In Ireland, areas that have come to

the fore in particular over the past

decade have been the games and

animation sectors. In recent years a

number of the world’s leading

companies in the space have also

established International and

European Headquarters in Dublin.

The emergence of several high-profile

and successful domestic companies

has helped to provide evidence to a

growing perception that Ireland can

now be accurately described as the

“Internet Capital of Europe” and that

Dublin’s “Digital Docklands” is truly

amongst one the world’s most

dynamic technology locations.

There are several key factors behind

the emergence of Dublin as a world-

class hub for innovation in the Digital

Media space.

A crucial demographic factor assisting

growth in the sector is the fact that

Ireland has the youngest and fastest

growing population in Europe.

Ireland’s historical strength in the

creative arts has been supplemented

with young talented European and

International workers who have

created numerous dynamic start-ups

as well as taking up many positions

with the leading multinational

companies that have their base in

Ireland.

Already one of the world’s leading

destinations for foreign direct

investment, IDA Ireland, the country’s

2

investment promotion agency, has

been particularly successful in

attracting companies in this sector.

Three of the world’s top five Games

companies and the top 1 “Born on

the Internet” companies have all

chosen Ireland as home for

substantial operations.

IDA Ireland’s success in attracting

these companies is built on several

core features of the Irish economy;

these include the country’s educated

workforce, its reputation for

technological innovation and its

attractive tax regime.

Dublin has also benefited in this

sector due to its strategic advantage

of being an English-speaking city

wholly integrated into the European

market but also with strong links to

the United States and leading

companies operating out of Silicon

Valley.

Another factor that has helped

contribute to the growth of the

industry within the city has been

several key infrastructural

investments, particularly in the city’s

information technology and telecoms

infrastructure.

Government

The Interactive & Digital Media sector

has been accorded a high priority

status by the Irish Government. With

the aim of developing Ireland into a

truly knowledge based economy, the

Government has supported a number

of new initiatives in the digital space

in recent years.

The Department of Communications,

Energy and Natural Resources is the

Government Department that has

primarily responsibility for setting

policy in this sector.

Launched in 13, “The National

Digital Strategy” is the Department’s

core policy document.

www.dcenr.gov.ie/Communications/

NDS/NDSHome

The Government’s Action Plan for

Jobs 2012 makes specific reference to

the Games Industry, with the stated

objective of establishing a cluster

development in digital games and

doubling the size of the industry over

the coming years.

www.djei.ie/publications/2012APJ.pd

f

Located in the Liberties, one of the

oldest parts of Dublin’s historic

cityscape, the Digital Hub is Ireland’s

flagship project in the digital media

sphere.

Controlled by the Digital Hub

Development Agency, the hub was

established to act as a creative

3

community for artists, researchers,

educators, technologists,

entrepreneurs and consumers to

work together to create innovative

and successful digital media products

and services.

Set up by the Irish Government in

2003, the area is now home to more

than 100 companies, employing

approximately 870 people.

www.thedigitalhub.com

The cluster includes start up

operations as well as established

companies with activities including

animation, multimedia production,

games, internet and mobile media

technologies.

Supported by several enterprise

driven state agencies and third-level

institutions the Hub’s business model

provides state-of-the-art start up

facilities for early stage, fast growth

companies and established operators.

Digital Dublin is a policy and practice

initiative that aims to identify, map,

benchmark and set targets for the

development of a Dublin as a leading

digital environment.

http://digitaldublin.ie/

State agencies IDA Ireland and

Enterprise Ireland collectively

promote Ireland as a compelling

location for Interactive & Digital

Media companies across the entire

industry value chain.

http://www.enterprise-

ireland.com/en

http://www.idaireland.com/

Leading sectors

Two of the most dynamic sectors

within Ireland’s Interactive Digital

Media sphere are Gaming and

Animation.

Gaming:

The most comprehensive analysis of

Ireland’s Gaming Industry is the 2011

Forfás report titled The Games Sector

in Ireland: An Action Plan for Growth.

http://www.forfas.ie/publication/sear

ch.jsp?ft=/publications/2011/title,842

6,en.php

An all-Ireland study of the games

industry conducted in 2012 estimated

the sector to be comprised of

approximately 75 companies,

employing approximately 3,300

people. This represents a 91%

increase in employment since 2009.

Gamedevelopers.ie, an online

network for gaming companies, is

currently in the process of compiling

an interactive map that will include

detailed information on all the key

developers and businesses in the

sector.

Company profile: Electronic Arts

4

In 2006, computer games giant

Electronic Arts announced plans to

open a European Customer Service

and Operations Centre for its BioWare

Studio. Providing customer support

and network hosting services for EA's

online role playing games, the

company’s operations, based in

Galway, currently employees

approximately 200 people. In

September 2012, the company

announced the creation of a further

300 positions.

Other leading games companies

operating in Ireland include Activision

Blizzard, Bioware, Zynga, GOA,

Popcap, Vivendi Games, Gala

Networks and Havok.

Animation:

A major economic success story of the

past decade, Ireland’s once small

domestic animation sector has now

developed into a multimillion-euro

industry. Spurred on by a combination

of tax incentives, talent development,

entrepreneurship and semi-state

support; Ireland’s animation sector

now employs in excess of 1000

technical and creative staff.

The small size of the domestic market

has meant that Irish animation

studios have been forced to focus on

the International television market,

leading to successful partnerships

with Disney, Nickelodeon, Cartoon

Network and CBBC.

The sector’s growing profile is

evidenced in recent international

recognition with Irish studios

collectively winning every worldwide

accolade including Oscars, BAFTAs

and International Emmys.

Animation Ireland is the Industry’s

leading representative body and key

industry information including

company lists can be accessed at

www.animationireland.com/

An additional source of industry

information developed by Enterprise

Ireland, The Irish Film Board and The

Screen Directors Guild of Ireland in

partnership with Animation Ireland

can be found at

www.irishfilmboard.ie/files/reports/A

nimated%20in%20Ireland%206.pdf

Company profile: Brown Bag Films

Irish firm Brown Bag Films is

considered one of Europe’s most

original and successful creative-led

animation studios. Producing cutting-

edge animation for the international

market since the company’s

establishment in 1994, Brown Bag has

been the recipient of many awards

and won Oscar® nominations for two

of its features Give Up Yer Aul Sins

(2002) and Granny O’Grimm’s

Sleeping Beauty (2010), and Bafta and

5

Emmy nominations for its hugely

popular TV series, Octonauts (2011).

Other leading animation companies

operating in Ireland are Boulder

Media, Caboom, Cartoon Saloon, JAM

Media, Kavaleer Productions, Magma

Productions, Treehouse Republic and

Zink.

Other sectors

Digital Adverting Sector

Company profile: HubSpot

In January 2013, HubSpot, the all-in-

one marketing software provider,

opened its European Headquarters in

Dublin. A pioneer in inbound

marketing, the company’s easy to use

software helps companies develop

effective and non-intrusive marketing

material. The company’s first-ever

branch office will eventually employ

150 people supporting its 600+

customers and approximately 100

value-added resellers.

The industry representative body for

digital advertising in Ireland is IAB

Ireland. http://iabireland.ie/

A business directory of the leading

online advertising firms operating in

Ireland can be found at

http://www.mediastreet.ie/en/busine

sses/filter-category/online-advertising

Mobile Application Development

Sector

Organization profile: CoderDojo

Founded in Ireland in 2011,

CoderDojo is a highly successful

volunteer movement to teach

children computer programming.

Each week, clubs - now established in

22 countries - teach up to 10,000

children to write computer code and

programs. Participants at the clubs

have already gone on to become

some the world’s most successful

young developers of mobile phone

applications.

http://coderdojo.com/

Education, R&D, Innovation

Leading Digital Hubs

The National Digital Research Centre.

http://www.ndrc.ie/

UCD Natural Computing Research &

Applications Group.

http://ncra.ucd.ie/Site/UCD_NCRA.sh

tml

Digital Enterprise Research Institute.

http://www.nuigalway.ie/our-

research/listings/digital-enterprise-

research-institute.html

Huston School of Film and Digital

Media. http://www.filmschool.ie/

Irish School of Animation, Ballyfermot College of Further Education.

6

http://isa-bcfe.ie/

Enterprise Ireland makes available a

Competitive Start Fund specially

targeted for companies developing

content and platform technologies in

the Digital Content Sector.

http://www.enterprise-

ireland.com/en/funding-supports/

In Septmebr 2013, Internet giant

Google opened The Foundry, a 15,000

sq-foot digital innovation centre

located next to the company’s EMEA

headquarters in the Dublin Docklands.

The facility, the first such investment

outside of the US, will host

conferences and research events for

SMEs and is projected to attract up to

15,000 business visitors to the facility

each year.

Leading third-level courses

BSc in Multimedia and Computer

Games Development at University of

Limerick

M.A. in Digital Media at NUI Galway

M.Sc. in Interactive Digital Media at

Trinity College Dublin

MSc in Creative Digital Media at

Dublin Institute of Technology

MSc. in Multimedia at Dublin City

University

A complete list of undergraduate and

postgraduate courses in games is

available at

www.gamedevelopers.ie/courses/

Events

The Dublin Web Summit (October)

www.websummit.net

Founded by Irish entrepreneur Paddy

Cosgrave, The Dublin Web Summit

has developed into one of Europe’s

leading digital media events.

Founders Summit (October)

Described by Bloomberg as “the

Davos for geeks” this invitation-only

event sees some of world’s most

successful entrepreneurs visit Dublin.

Previous attendees include the

founders of YouTube, Twitter, AOL,

Skype and Netflix.

The Digital Ireland Forum (April-

September)

www.siliconrepublic.com/events

Hosted by Silicon Republic, this semi-

annual event sees Ireland’s digital

leaders meet to discuss how next

generation technologies impact

business.

Digital Media Forum

www.digitalmediaforum.net

The Digital Media Forum is an

enterprise network that develops and

7

administers enterprise resources for

companies in the digital media

industry.

Resources Siliconrepublic.com is Ireland's

leading technology and innovation

news service.

For a comprehensive list of domestic

multinational companies operating in

the Interactive & Digital Media

industry sphere please consult

Irish companies - Enterprise Ireland

http://www.enterprise-

ireland.com/en/Source-a-Product-or-

Service-from-Ireland/Sector-and-

Company-Directories/

Multinational companies - IDA Ireland

http://www.idaireland.com/