Accenture recently opened its The Dock research and incubation hub in Dublin's Silicon Docks. The 60,000 square-foot building will house around 300 professions from the firm by year's end, and is focused on bringing together a range of stakeholders, from startups to academia, to create the disruptive ideas of tomorrow.
Accenture has further strengthened its position in the Irish market with the launch of a new multi-disciplinary research and incubation hub, dubbed ‘The Dock’. The new centre, which is located in Dublin’s Silicon Docks, offers 60,000 square feet of space housing for around 200 of the firm’s staff, crossing a range of disciplines. The Hub too houses Fjord, the design studio owned by the firm, which recently opened an office in the building.
The aim of the space is to foster collaboration across a range of stakeholders, from entrepreneurs and businesses to academia, with particular focus on the investigation, development and scaling of disruptive innovation. The firm itself will support the various parties with its capabilities across research, ventures, labs, studios and innovation and delivery centres – which includes new ways of working.
The firm is planning to further its commitment to Ireland by hiring an additional 300 people across the country in 2017, boosting the already 2,200 people employed by the firm in the country. 100 of the new candidates will join The Dock. The Department of Jobs, Enterprise & Innovation through IDA Ireland is supporting Accenture’s The Dock hub.
Martin Shanahan, Chief Executive of the IDA, says, “The Dock showcases Accenture’s depth of technology expertise in Ireland. The company’s continued investment in innovation and in its team of talented professionals greatly enhances Ireland’s position as a compelling location for global professional service firms. IDA continues to target additional investment in this key sector.”
Commenting on the expansion in Ireland, Pierre Nanterme, Accenture’s Chairman and CEO, remarks, “Our talented professionals across Ireland are imagining the future every day to solve some of the biggest challenges facing businesses, governments and consumers. We are proud to build on our long history in Ireland with today’s official opening of The Dock and investment in new jobs to drive innovation that helps our clients meet the demands of a rapidly evolving digital world.”
In November 2015 Accenture Ireland moved into Facebook's old headquarters in the country, located at 7 Hanover Quay in Dublin’s south docklands, while it too in 2015 opened a Centre for Innovation in Dublin.
Other professional services firms are also actively expanding their footprint in Ireland: EY last year added nearly 300 new recruits to its Irish workforce while in October PwC opened a Cyber Centre in the country.