FRENCH SOFTWARE company Business Objects will invest €29 million in a Dublin research and development (RD) facility which will employ 100 people within four years.
The IDA Ireland-supported centre will have 50 staff by the end of the year. It will be located at the offices of German software company SAP in Dublin's Citywest business park.
Business Objects was acquired by SAP for €4.8 billion last year, creating the largest software company in Europe and the third largest worldwide. Between them, the two companies employ more than 1,000 staff at locations in Dublin and Galway.
The new centre will focus on performance optimisation technologies, which help businesses link strategy with operations, according to Frédéric Daniel, the Business Objects executive who will manage the facility.
Mr Daniel said it would also examine how web 2.0 technologies such as social networking can be used by businesses.
A small lab within the centre will focus on emerging ideas and will build links with local universities on specific research projects.
Mr Daniel said he was confident of being able to recruit the technical staff required, based on the firm's previous experience in Ireland, and having visited other research centres here and seen the quality of Irish universities.
Business Objects occupies more than 20 per cent of the market for business intelligence software. This software enables organisations to access relevant information on their computer systems.
The company has more than 500 customers in Ireland, including Bank of Ireland, AIB, Ulster Bank, Dublin City Council and the Department of Social and Family Affairs.
Analysts predict the global market for business intelligence software will reach $7 billion (€4.5 billion) by 2011.
Business Objects continues to operate independently but is branded as "an SAP company".
Liam Ryan, managing director of SAP's Irish operations, said there was little overlap between the two companies' lines of business in Ireland.
SAP's Dublin and Galway offices are primarily focused on customer support, while Business Objects carries out sales and operates a financial share services centre at Park West in Dublin. Mr Ryan said there was potential for SAP to build on Business Objects' shared services model.
Business Objects senior vice-president Jean-Pierre Brulard said the firm chose Ireland as a location because of the "positive experiences" both companies have had operating here.
SAP has been in Ireland for more than 10 years while Business Objects established a base in 2002.
Government policy and IDA Ireland support were also "critical in the mix", according to Mr Brulard.
