The Government has invested €1.2 million in a new research programme that it hopes will help make Ireland a world leader in cloud computing, creating jobs and boosting the economy.
Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation, Richard Bruton unveiled the programme today, which will allocate the funding over 12 months to a consortium of higher education institutions led by Dublin City University.
Under the Government’s Action Plan for Jobs, the establishment of the Cloud Computing Technology Research Centre is viewed as key to growing Ireland’s cloud computing sector. The funding announced today will support the initial research programme of the centre.
The group of institutions, which also includes University College Cork and Athlone Institute of Technology, will use the money to work with selected software companies to establish ways to generate business and profit from cloud computing.
The research will look at cloud computing technology architecture, including design, configuration and operation; service management; business research; and cloud security.
“The Government believes that between our climate, skills base, telecoms connectivity and existing strengths in ICT, we have the potential to reap substantial benefits in terms of jobs and growth from the global expansion of this sector,” Mr Bruton said.
“However this growth won’t happen automatically, and through the Action Plan for Jobs we will implement a series of measures to encourage the growth of the sector.”
Cloud computing is a fast-growing sector, with research firm Gartner estimating that worldwide revenues from services in the sector will reach $148 billion by 2014.
