IT@Cork: Future for tech is extremely bright
Cork is fast becoming one of Europe’s most active and growing tech regions with 29,000 employees, adding to rapid growth in Ireland’s technology industry.
That’s the message of IT@Cork chair Caroline O’Driscoll as the voluntary tech body’s 12th annual Leaders’ Awards recognised winners from a range of indigenous and multinational companies.
Voxpro founders Dan and Linda Kiely were named as Tech Persons of the Year at the event.
Ms O’Driscoll said: “This year we had the highest number of nominations ever, and each year it becomes increasingly difficult to select winners because of the high calibre of contenders.
She said: “The future for Cork tech is extremely bright. I want to take this opportunity to congratulate not only the winners but the nominees and most importantly the people who stand behind them — each award winner and nominee is powered by a team and I want to thank each and every one of the 29,000 employees working in our thriving, ground-breaking and boundary-pushing ICT sector.”
The Multinational-Large Company award went to McKesson, which provides pharmaceutical and medical products to pharmacies and hospitals throughout the world.
Its technology centre in Cork is the first and only one outside the US and is a player in cybersecurity and software development.
The One to Watch winner is the rapidly expanding cybersecurity Smarttech247 based in Cork.
It also has offices in Krakow and Bucharest.
The Smart Technology Innovation award went to GridBeyond.
It provides demand-side response and energy services for large industrial and commercial clients.
The Tech Start-Up award was shared with two winners, Getvisibility and Altada.
Getvisibility is a cyber-security company that develops, sells and operates a disruptive artificial intelligence-driven software-as-a-service platform.
The product can be used by any firm to monitor sensitive data, in real-time.
Altada transforms data-rich clients into data-driven companies using an artificial intelligence platform to cleanse and organise data groups.
Tech Training Programme of the Year award went to Xanadu, a technology company that develops betting software.
It provides operational support and services for the Matchbook betting exchange.
The Corporate Social Responsibility award went to VMWare, which currently employs 1,100.
Excellence in Education went to Gaelcholáiste Mhuire, a 600-student school on the northside of Cork city.
