Belfast ICT

Northern Ireland’s ICT sector has grown rapidly over the past number of years and the software area has developed particularly in financial services, mobile communications, internet and e-commerce.

Ready access to a highly skilled, affordable and loyal workforce and the existence of an established, thriving local industry has led major companies such as Liberty IT, Allstate, BT and Nortel Networks to choose NI as a location for their software operations.

The rapid growth of the sector owes much to a number of indigenous companies who have successfully tapped into international markets in the 1980s such as Aepona, First Derivatives, Kainos, Mobile Cohesion and Amphion. These companies are supported by an excellent research infrastructure. Among these is the NI Knowledge Engineering Laboratory (NIKEL), hosted by the University of Ulster. DSiP Laboratories at Queens University is an internationally recognised centre of excellence in digital signal processing and system-on-chip design while the university’s Belfast e-Science Centre tests university-based research in real business applications.

Also at Queens, the Institute for Electronic Communications and Information Technology (ECIT) focuses on the converging technologies of electronics, communications and information technology.

Alongside this research infrastructure and the development of companies operating in this sector, there are other reasons for ICT companies to invest in Belfast. Operating costs are 32% lower than UK locations and 35% lower than US locations. Salaries are up to 29% lower than the rest of Europe and each year 2,600 IT students qualify from NI universities and colleges with a further 650 engineers entering the workforce.

ICT Sector Profile 2005