Empowerment For The Future

Microsoft Ireland is much more than a service and product provider, its new General Manager Anne Sheehan tells Ambition. It has become a multilayered organisation that partners with businesses, educates the young early and nurtures tomorrow’s digital revolution.

Anne Sheehan replaced Microsoft’s Cathriona Hallahan who retired from the company after 35 years in July last year.

In her role as the new GM she says she’s been “amazed” by how open businesses here are to leveraging the organisation’s platforms and tools to become fast adopters of technology. The former director of Vodafone Business UK has got businesses’ adoption of new tech, specifically AI and cloud services, at the top of her agenda but there’s an overriding obligation at the company to ensure it nurtures the here and now of new business start-ups, talent and the future IT specialists too. “I’m passionate about partnering with organisations to help them find ways to use digital technology to drive success now and in the future, so that businesses and the public sector can harness the opportunities of our digital age to empower economic growth and drive societal impact,” Anne begins. She says the goal is to equip businesses around the whole of Ireland with the tools and skills they need to “continue transforming at speed and by embracing new technologies”. And with our new hybrid working model in force, the reliance on tech and the move to more specialised tech is more important than ever. Anne describes it as a “seismic shift”.

“Our team is focused on helping business leaders to navigate the shift to hybrid working and the obstacles that lie along that path. “It’s clear that there is no appetite to revert to the pre-pandemic ways of working, and nor should there be. With the right support and tools, a hybrid working model can unlock the potential for a workplace that works for everyone. “At an organisational level, through applications such as Microsoft Viva, aggregated data can provide businesses and HR leaders with a deeper understanding of how employees are navigating the hybrid environment. These insights will support leadership and HR teams in crafting effective strategies that empower managers, establish boundaries around flexible working hours, and create equity between the digital and physical experience.” She says cloud and AI will lead the way with tech adoption during this transition, adding: “Microsoft is working to make AI accessible to every individual and organisation. Our goal is to amplify people’s ingenuity with intelligent technology by infusing AI into everything we do. This will enable our customers and partners to put AI into action so they can turn data-driven insights into meaningful and positive innovation and business results outcomes. “Cloud technology is a growth sector providing an increasing number of job opportunities each year. With the share of organisations expected to use the cloud for all, or almost all, of their business requirements set to jump 22% within three years, it’s vital that we equip people with the cloud skills to match the in-demand roles emerging within our economy.” With this in mind, the company has ramped up its educational offering including the Microsoft Skill Forward programme that provides industryrecognised certifications in Azure, Security, Azure AI, Power Platform, and Data. Anne continues: “Later this year, we’ll be opening our fourth Assured Skills Academy, a partnership between Microsoft and Belfast Met. The programme focuses on data and AI, and provides an opportunity for people, irrespective of age or experience, to acquire the right skills to participate fully in the digital economy.” The company has also pumped £1m into Microsoft Dream Space at W5’s Digital Learning Centre which will open later this year. Anne says this will “help strengthen Northern Ireland’s future talent pipeline so that our young people of today can become tomorrow’s digital leaders”. Access to Microsoft Dream Space at W5 will be made available to primary and secondary school students across NI. The digital skills experience is delivered by Microsoft across the island of Ireland and has already engaged over 80,000 students through a mix of in-person and virtual experiences. The physical presence of Microsoft Dream Space at W5 will make it even easier for students across Northern Ireland to engage with the experience, opening their minds to the power of digital technology and STEM in exciting new ways and demonstrating to them the crucial role that these areas have in their lives now and into the future.

Microsoft is known for following through with ambitious strategies. Its history here is evidence of that. It was first established on the island of Ireland in 1985. Since then, it has expanded immensely to today employing more than 2,800 people who represent over 70 nationalities. From a growing team of engineers and software developers, Microsoft International Operations, Finance, HR, EMEA Digital Sales, and Ireland Sales and Marketing teams, Anne says its Irish entity has “an ambition to help every organisation, through the power of technology, to achieve more”. It will do this by placing a focus on customer solution areas.

“These include security, business applications, data and AI, infrastructure, and modern work. We’re currently experiencing a seismic shift that’s rewiring the fundamentals of work, the economy, and the labour force as we know it,” she explains. As a result of that shift, last year it announced the expansion of its Dublinbased EMEA Digital Sales team with the creation of 200 new jobs and the establishment of the new Microsoft Sales Academy. It also created 200 new engineering roles which is an investment of €27m (£23m) in a new Engineering Hub in Leopardstown, Dublin in 2020.

“The strength of our presence and the breadth of our expertise provide us with the opportunity to help our customers and partners to innovate, scale up and succeed in a digital world. As we look to the future, we are seeing significant interest from organisations of all sizes to embrace and build on their investments to realise the full economic, environmental, and business benefits of digitalisation on a much larger scale – with cloud adoption and AI central to their plans.” In Northern Ireland the latter investments are reflected in business partnerships, says Anne. “I’m a firm believer that when we work together, we can grow together. That belief is at the very centre of our relationships with our customers and partners across Northern Ireland. From the education and healthcare community to the broader public sector, Microsoft has developed long-lasting partnerships which are unlocking new business opportunities as well as helping to solve the challenges facing our society. That has been the driving force behind our Partner Pledge, a statement of intent shared by our partners to become ambassadors for digital skills, advocates for responsible and ethical AI, and leaders committed to building a diverse and inclusive tech sector that supports an environmentally sustainable future for our planet.” She references Microsoft’s partnership with Capita as an example of using digital technologies to empower educators to help equip the next generation with the digital skills to compete in the jobs market and become future innovators in Northern Ireland.

She concludes: “This partnership highlights the impact we can achieve for teachers, students, and the wider education system by working together. Through the roll-out of over 20,000 Microsoft Surface laptops to teachers across Northern Ireland, we can empower them to test and trial new ways of teaching, helping to equip the next generation with the digital skills they’ll need to participate in the jobs of today and tomorrow.”