HEWLETT-PACKARD is to create 500 new jobs over the next 12 months at its Liffey Park Technology Campus in Leixlip, Co Kildare, the company announced yesterday.
The global technology firm, which already employs over 4,000 people in Ireland at facilities in Dublin, Leixlip, Galway and Belfast, said it is to create the positions as part of an €18 million IDA-supported investment at its multi-lingual support centre.
HP’s global services desk provides support in 16 European languages.
Martin Murphy, managing director of HP Ireland said that over the next two to three years he would be “looking to double the numbers announced today”.
As well as expanding the services desk, HP has nominated the Leixlip campus as a global centre of excellence for its outsourcing business. It will also carry out research and development into services as part of the expansion.
“Customers will want to locate their projects where the know-how and expertise is based,” said Mr Murphy.
HP’s services unit is one of the best-performing at the firm which has not been immune to the global slowdown in technology spending. Despite this, the unit is growing revenues at 15 per cent annually.
Under current chief executive Mark Hurd, services has been a major focus for the technology vendor which sells everything from printers to high-end servers. Last year, HP acquired rival outsourcing firm EDS in a $13.9 billion deal.
Mr Murphy said the outsourcing business, which sees HP take over the IT function for customers, is growing because HP “can do it more efficiently, has more resources, and can do it at lower cost”. “We expect more and more large international clients to give us their IT systems to run and manage from Ireland,” he said.
Recruitment has begun for 300 of the 500 positions. The services desk will provide a range of services, including onsite IT support, service desk functions, data centre management and business process outsourcing. HP moved its multilingual support centre from its Clonskeagh offices to Leixlip last August.
Mr Murphy said HP Ireland won the project because of the track record of delivering global services from Leixlip and the availability of technical and linguistic skills in the local job market.
HP has invested over €500 million in its Leixlip operations since they were established in 1995.
Mr Murphy praised IDA Ireland for “almost fast-tracking” its support for the project. The first contact between the two sides took place on December 22nd last.
