ComputerScope on 30 years of technology in Ireland

Congratulations to TechPro magazine and all the team at Mediateam for achieving this fantastic milestone and also for consistently being at the forefront of technology news reporting in Ireland for such a long time.

“Despite all of these changes, the fundamentals of doing business are still the same. Irish organisations want to deal with people and organisations that they can trust and build good relationships,” Patrick Kickham, director

At Datapac, we also recently celebrated our 30th anniversary and we’re proud to have played such a leading role in the Irish technology sector over the past three decades. During this time, we’ve witnessed significant economic and technological changes. In recent years, some of the key developments have included much improved speeds and availability of fixed and mobile broadband, the huge uptake in cloud and virtualisation services, and the explosive growth of devices, applications and data. But despite all of these changes, the fundamentals of doing business are still the same. Irish organisations want to deal with people and organisations that they can trust and build good relationships with.

Datapac always puts our customer at the heart of everything we do, enabling them to gain competitive advantage through better technology solutions and services. Through our strategic, high-level partnerships with the world’s leading technology providers such as Cisco, Citrix, EMC, HP, IBM, Microsoft, Sophos and VMware, we’re always fully up-to-date with the latest technology advancements and ready for the next exciting development. Datapac has been first to market in Ireland with many exciting and innovative solutions over the years, with a particular focus on managed services. We will continue to strategically invest in our service platform, offerings and people to ensure our customers receive best advice and support during this ongoing technological revolution. We’re looking forward to the next 30 years!

Patrick Kickham, director, Datapac

Founded in 2004, Square One’s history spans 11 years as Ireland’s premier trade only technology distribution partner. Undoubtedly technological developments over the past 20 years, especially in the last five years, have moulded the business.

“As technology advances it will be used in new contexts and environments. User experience has had a substantial impact,” Garnett Stewart, GM

Interactive technologies have played a fundamental part in providing the channel and end users with products and solutions for smarter, efficient and effective ways of working. The market is evolving to incorporate these new products and companies are moving fast with the trends. This will only continue — with ‘Millennials’ driving technological trends and changes.

As technology advances it will be used in new contexts and environments. User experience has had a substantial impact. If we look where the technologies are used, interactive screens in the retail space, 3D printers in primary schools, UST projectors in the everyday meeting room or communal area for a true cinema experience in care homes — reflecting the fundamental value of interaction and customer experience.

As our parent company since 2009, Midwich, a leading European technology distributor has played a big part in influencing decisions and providing opportunities for growth. In today’s market it goes without saying resellers and dealers need a distributor that delivers more than boxes. The market is evolving and moving fast, with trends including cloud and Internet of Things reinforcing our focus on interactive providing endless opportunities.

Garnett Stewart, general manager

Founded in 1967, the Irish Computer Society (ICS) was made up of a handful of third level Computer Science graduates and their professors who populated the fledging IT industry at the time. Run exclusively by volunteers, our focus was to; provide an independent, representative voice for IT Professionals, establish recognition for ICS membership, while offering networking and educational opportunities.

“We continue to encourage the development of IT professionals, the availability of ICT curricula, and the appropriate use of ICT within the education system, as well as supporting the furthering of Ireland’s economic, educational, and cultural leadership,” Jim Friars, CEO

 

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By 1985 when the ComputerScope magazine (now TechPro) launched, the ICS had become a recognised part of civic society. We ran an annual event with our sister society, the Belfast branch of the British Computer Society (BCS) and were supported by several Irish based IT Computing Companies and IT Professionals.

One major conference undertaken by the society was the International VLDB (Very Large Database), which was attended by several hundred international delegates. Fast forward 30 years and the ICS has developed into a substantial company, employing over 40 staff with a membership of over 5,000. The impact of the Internet, not to mention Moore’s Law, has meant the society has grown in relevance and now plays a central role in the development of the IT profession in Ireland.

Our members now enjoy access to an extensive network of IT professionals in Ireland as well as resources for professional development, Europe wide professional recognition, and guidance on professional standards. By providing a means for current and potential computer users to achieve certified qualifications we continue to strive to provide guidance and instruction in the newest IT techniques and approaches.

While IT has changed dramatically over the last 30 years, so has our work to advance and promote computer literacy throughout the Irish population. We continue to encourage the development of IT professionals, the availability of ICT curricula, and the appropriate use of ICT within the education system, as well as supporting the furthering of Ireland’s economic, educational, and cultural leadership in the worldwide information society.

Through our charitable mission, ICS has grown to provide programmes such as F1 in Schools and Tech Week, which aim to inspire students to engage actively in STEM subjects, and to equip them with the knowledge to make informed choices about their future subject and career choices.

F1 in schools in an international competition that challenges secondary school students to design, build, and race miniature compressed air powered F1 cars. The competition inspires students to use IT to learn about physics, aerodynamics, design, and manufacture and apply them in a practical, imaginative, and exciting way.

Tech Week is Ireland’s nationwide festival of technology. Aimed at students, teachers, parents and the public, with over 100,000 participants in 2015 Tech Week provides hands-on opportunities for people to learn about how computing and related technology are shaping everyday life.

We look forward to the next 30 years and all the challenges and excitement that new technology will bring and will go on sharing and supporting our members and the wider population in keeping Ireland a leader in IT innovation.

Jim Friars, CEO