Ms Ann Riordan's brief as general manager of Microsoft has evolved from overseeing sales and marketing for the Irish market in 1991, to policing the huge problem of software piracy which is eating into 70 per cent of Microsoft's market here.
Software piracy in Ireland is estimated to have cost $46 million (£32 million) in 1996 alone, and the company has employed 16 private detectives to work closely with the 12-strong sales team over the past six months to combat the problem.
"I think it's a national disgrace. We have all the major software publishers based in Ireland, providing major employment, yet we still have the highest rate of software theft in Europe," says Ms Riordan.
In response, two initiatives were adopted earlier this year a nationwide validation service giving people the opportunity to check the legality of their software, and test purchasing of Microsoft products.
Where breaches of copyright are discovered, a cease-and-desist letter is issued to the dealer. If the dealer in question persists, the company may then initiate a civil action.
More recently Ms Riordan feels Microsoft has turned the corner in Ireland in 50 cases the company has settled legal actions for breaches of copyright out of court. The money from the settlements in line with Microsoft policy was invested in training long-term unemployed people in software skills.
"The perception that Microsoft has huge marketing revenue in Ireland is an absolute myth, as we're only getting paid for 30 per cent of product usage. The more people we settle with, or bring to court, the more unemployed people will get trained in Ireland," Ms Riordan says. She rejects the argument that the high cost of Microsoft products in Ireland is an incentive to buy or copy software illegally. "Illegal is illegal. People could equally say: `I stole a BMW because I can only afford a Mini'."
She also maintains that the complaints of smaller dealers about the cost of Microsoft software are misguided. In some cases, Irish dealers claim to be paying £100 more than bigger providers such as Dell and Gateway.
Ms Riordan points to the original equipment manufacturer (OEM) versions of Microsoft products which are pre-installed in PCs. The non-OEM channels off the shelf retailers will pay more for the product wholesale, but because the price includes Microsoft support, this is written into the cost. However, written into the OEM agreements is an undertaking by the PC dealers to provide their own product support to the end user.
"It's not the cost of the software that's important the biggest element of any computer installation is actually the support of the services from a cost perspective. So software plays a very small part in the overall cost to dealers," Ms Riordan says.
What about other software companies such as Lotus and Corel which are bundling free software in order to compete? "If we start giving away software at less than cost, with regard to technological developments the world will stand still. I don't believe companies that are giving away their software can be putting anything back into R&D," she says.
Meanwhile, Internet Explorer 4.0, the latest version of Microsoft's Internet browser, is being provided free of charge to gain a clear market advantage over its rival Netscape. The difference is that Microsoft can afford to do this indefinitely, and still spend heavily on R&D.
Ms Riordan argues that when she started Microsoft Ireland, six years ago, with only 1 per cent of the software market, competitors such as Lotus, WordPerfect and Novell were the frontrunners. "We've had to go out and market - people are not forced to buy, they make their own purchasing decisions," she says.
Microsoft's original company strategy was to work directly with large clients to create the market that dealers would want to sell to. By putting contracts out to tender, the dealers then had to vie for the business. Guinness Peat Aviation (GPA) and University College Dublin (UCD) were the first to come on board. The rest, as they say, is history.
Today, Microsoft's operations in Ireland employ 1,200 people on a full-time basis, with a further 2,000 people providing outsourced or contracted services. Its base in the Sandyford Industrial Estate in Dublin is the largest outside of Seattle in the US.
The operation in Ireland is divided into three organisations. Microsoft Ireland sells software directly to the Irish market. The second the European Operations Centre was established in 1985 and manages Microsoft's European distribution and business transaction processes. It will generate revenues of £2.54 billion this year.
The third Microsoft Worldwide Product Group (Ireland) localises all Microsoft software in 25 languages for the European and global market and is the only localisation base outside of the US. It employs at least 90 per cent graduates.
Ms Riordan says that the quality of employment is very specialised across the board. "We started off with a semi-skilled workforce in 1985, but many have been retrained to handle the business transactions. Today the 1,200 jobs are highly skilled there is no doubt about that."
The current probe by both the US Justice department and the European Commission into Microsoft's activities, is causing a stir globally, as speculation abounds as to whether the company will be found to be engaging in anti-competitive practices.Ms Riordan repeats the company line, saying: "The hearing is in two weeks time, and in the meantime it's business as usual. We've been told to feel quite confident in the interim."
