Placement Essay #1: The Role of the Software Engineering Industry
in society
Industrial Placement
BSc (Honours) in Software Design
The software engineering industry possesses many vital roles in modern society, ranging
from economical, employment opportunities and technological advancements. These
aspects of society that are benefiting from the rise of the software industry are mutually
advantageous to the populace and economy alike.
The first role I will discuss is the benefits of Software industry on the economy. In its current
state the economy is shifting from the over reliance on the construction industry to the
software industry. Especially in Ireland, the software industry is rapidly growing and in
comparison to other industries it’s becoming increasingly popular with younger generations.
Ireland Information, Communication and technology sector accounts for twenty five percent
of the economy’s turnover and a third of exports by value.
Out of the world’s top ten global ICT companies, nine are present in Ireland which bodes
well for the rapid increase in qualified software developers graduating third level education.
Apple, Twitter, Havok, Facebook, Microsoft and Ericsson are all global technology
companies with offices based in Ireland. From tech advisors to software developers, these
companies hire thousands of people with a range of skills in Ireland today.
In recent reports, the software industry is a major contributing factor in the rise from
economic recession currently encompassing Ireland.
The next topic I’ll discuss is the employment opportunities that the software industry
provides for the populace. With a surge in software orientated courses in third level
education being increased exponentially in Ireland, the future irish employment outcome
seems to be based in the information, communication and technology sector.
There are over 200 ICT companies in Ireland, directly employing 38,500 people according to
www.idaireland.com. These figures will only increase in the coming years as new software
companies emerge in Ireland such as haunt’d house and nimbletours. Both of which are still
only starting out but show great promise in their fields of augmented reality applications
and tourism applications respectively.
It’s a known fact that the software industry is continually expanding which creates many
jobs around the world. In particular Ireland has seen many companies create headquaters
here due to your educated workforce and tax benefits.
Guideware Software is an american company with offices based in Ireland, which creates
core back end software for insurance companies are set to double its work force by 2014.
This will see the workforce rise by seventy five people, ranging from developers to
management and will brings its total staff to one hunfred and twenty five.
Source: www. thejournal.ie
ACI Worldwide Inc. is another american software company which is planning to expand their
international headquaters in Limerick, Ireland. ACI develops payment systems for retailers and
financial instituations. They plan to increase workforce by sixty people.
Source: www.siliconrepublic.com
A digital maketeing software company named Marin Software are set to open international
headquarters in Dublin and create thirty five staff postions over three years. Providing jobs in IT,
financial advisors and sales.
Source: www.techcentral.ie
These companies are just the three most recent developments in terms of software
companies providing employment for Ireland, thus contributing to society in this country.
“This is a sector which is at the heart of the Government's Action Plan for Jobs and in the
time since we have taken office a total of over 11,000 additional people are at work in ICT
activities”
Quote: Minister of Jobs, enterprise and innovation, Richard Bruton.
This figure states eleven thousand jobs have been created and filled in two years since Fine
Gael took office in 2011. This is an astonishing figure in relation to the populace size of
Ireland. This figure will surely rise in the coming months and years, as the software industry
shows no sign of slowing down.
The next and last topic I feel that society has benefited from is the technological advances
that have been made by software industry. This can be a slightly controversial topic but I
feel personally that the benefits outweigh the negatives.
Many people think that technology has erased social skills like attention spans and believes
that most of the world’s populace are too dependent on technology. This may be true but
technology has surpassed the notion of being manmade object, it’s now a social trend and
to an extent modern life.
As we live in a world where children hold devices in their hands that have the same
computing power that NASA had when launching men to the moon in 1969, the Sony
Playstation 3 has the power of a military supercomputer created in 1997 which cost
countless millions of dollars to make. These advances have been ignored to an extent and
people don’t really appreciate the technology behind what they hold in their hand, because
having a certain type of mobile phone is now more of a social or fashion statement rather
than a piece of technological artistry.
So the question is has software based technology advancements benefited society? I believe
it to be a unanimous yes! Today’s world is small compared to fifty years ago, it’s now easier
to talk to people half way around the world then it is to talk to your neighbour or buying a
DVD in a different continent is now easier then walking to the shop that sells the same DVD.
By 2016 in the United Kingdom, the Boston Consulting group predicts online sales will
account for a quarter of all sales. In terms of Ireland, Visa Europe predicts Irish will spend
four hundred and twenty million online this Christmas. Which means each person will spend
two hundred euro each online, with Amazon and eBay being the major providers.
In conclusion the topic’s I selected prove the benefits of the software industry in society,
particularly on Irish society. From improving the economic recession, providing employment
opportunities and creating technology that makes every day life easier. These three reasons
alone provide a creditable reason to believe in the benefits of software as a viable industry.