ComputerScope on 30 years of technology in Ireland

Looking back over the last 30 years, the evolution from mainframes through to client server to PaaS, SaaS and IaaS provides discrete milestones which all service providers, whether they be ISVs, MSPs or corporate IT departments, will recognise.

 

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Our major tipping point came with the development of software to manage disparate compute resources such as physical and virtual with OS, apps and networking wrapped in a business process engine. This was started in 2008, the technology was the subject of acquisition by Egenera Inc, Boston in 2012 and is sold in the Irish market through Xterity Cloud Services. It has also been sold into Japan, the USA and UK and Germany.

Another point came when we raised private equity and Enterprise Ireland money which was used to bootstrap a sales effort into the UK. A direct consequence of this was the acquisition in 2012. This offset the need to establish distribution as Egenera had foot print globally into which it could sell the technology.

The original initiative and identification of the technology opportunity was based on the career experience of the founders of the Irish company. That said major US based vendors such as VMware should be recognised for the technology they have given to the industry.

The vision of every ISV, MSP or IT person to see the opportunity both from technical and commercial perspectives needs to be recognised. Ultimately, these are the people who translate business requirements into working, competitive and commercially viable solutions that are sustainable.

Gerry Murray, SVP and GM EMEA, Xterity Cloud Services

In the past 30 years, especially the last 10, numerous technologies have had an impact on Arrow UK and Ireland. Here are just a few trends, old and new, that have been opening new markets for us.

The introduction of e-commerce in the mid-1990s allowed organisations to complete transactions anytime, anywhere; making all businesses potential customers and suppliers. This also increased corporate exposure to security risks, which meant a growth in our AV and Firewall portfolio.

Another critical development was birth of the smart phone and tablet in the late-2000s; bringing about the consumerisation of IT and enterprise mobility. If you don’t have a dedicated mobile app to complement your on-premise or cloud-delivered service, you’ll quickly be left behind. This led to a high demand for the security and connectivity mobile solutions that Arrow provides in Ireland.

In the mid-2010s, Ireland’s technology focus is only increasing, bringing us to the commoditisation of development. The Government has introduced coding classes for five-seven year olds, so the only way is ‘up’ for the quantity and quality of home-grown developers. As supply chains become more complex and time-to-productivity becomes more important, developers will help businesses react quicker, deliver sooner and be better informed.

Another key consideration in the second half of the decade will be dealing with the data deluge. Now is the time to review current data centre solutions, and take steps in tackling the inevitable future of unstructured data. Our recommendation is to look at how the Software Defined Data Centre will help improve agility, automation and flexibility compared to legacy infrastructure.

And, finally risk-based security and self-protection continues to be big. Reactive and perimeter security is no longer enough. To maintain a safe, open and secure cyberspace we must look at DLP, compliance, security remediation, and IPS and SSL VPN; thereby increasing our reliance on vendors like Checkpoint and F5.

Paul Kelly, country manager at Arrow ECS, Ireland

Fifteen years ago when we started, mobile phones were being used exclusively for phone calls and to a lesser extent person-to-person text messaging. The big eye opener for us was when we realised you could connect text messages to computer applications and databases. That simple realisation caused us to completely refocus the company very quickly in our first year of business from being an internet start-up to concentrating solely on SMS and text message applications and services for businesses.

Later on, as mobile speeds and handsets improved, more people starting accessing the Internet on their phones but it wasn’t until the iPhone launched in 2007 that data services became widespread and viable through apps and mobile-optimised web sites.

We got into the mobile app development space early and developed our skillset across both iPhone and Android platforms. Nowadays, of course, people are looking for a completely seamless multiplatform experience across all the digital channels and most of the new business we’re bringing in at the moment involves a combination of SMS, email and app push on the messaging side as well as integrated responsive web sites, tablet and smart phone apps on the content side. Our initial foray from the Web into SMS when we started all those years ago seems to have come back again full circle!

Eamon Hession, CEO, Púca