Micheál Martin, T.D., Minister for Enterprise Trade and Employment officially opened  Dell’s EMEA Business Campus, at Cherrywood, Co Dublin on June 1, 2006, where ultimately up to 1,650 employed will be employed there. Dell is Ireland's largest exporter.

The Minister said that Dell Ireland is the the 2^nd largest ICT employer in Ireland (after chipmaker Intel) with over 4,300 currently employed between Dublin and Limerick. 

Dell’s importance to the Irish economy is evidenced by  the company’s contribution of at least 5.5 per cent of Irish exports, 2 per cent of GDP and over 4 per cent of all expenditure in the Irish economy.  In the financial year ended 30th January 2004, Dell paid €160m in salaries in Ireland.   For the financial year ended 30^th January 2005, Dell paid €55m in Corporation Tax.

Dell headquarters Round Rock, Texas - Much of the PC industry's growth is coming from strong demand in China and India.

"I am particularly pleased at the quality of investments in 2005 and their regional spread. I am also very encouraged to see that of the €1.035 billion invested in 121 projects, €275 million of this has been invested in 50 R&D projects. The calibre and quality of the jobs being created is also critical with over half of all jobs created requiring third level qualifications and almost 40% of all new jobs in IDA-backed projects now earning in excess of €37,000 per annum," Martin said.

In the global context, Dell Inc., Texas, is one of the world’s fastest growing company (Fortune 500), the world’s Number One manufacturer of computers and during 2005 was the Number One supplier of personal computer systems worldwide. The company employs 65,000 people globally and has sales offices in 170 countries. The company currently has an 18% market share of the worldwide PC market.   Dell provides products to 90% of the Fortune 500.

For the year ended 3^rd February 2006, Dell recorded a 14% increase of net revenues to US$56 billion, net income of US$4 billion, total cash and investments of US$12 billion. During this time an extra 10,000 people were hired. EMEA revenue during this period was up 19%, generating $12.9bn in revenue (23% of total revenues). During this period Dell announced new facilities in El Salvador, Japan, China and the Philippines – including ten customer contact centres in the US, a Dell Design Centre in Singapore and a Dell Enterprise Command Centre in Malaysia. Dell also doubled manufacturing capacity in China (fourth largest market) and shipments increased 37% during this period.

Dell’s objective is to be an $80 billion company in the next three years and Dell expects 55% of growth to come from international markets with Europe representing a strong growth market for Dell. The company is also investing in high growth countries like China, India, Brazil and Malaysia. Industry analysts continue to report favourably on the ability of the company to achieve this $80bn goal.

Dell under pressure

Dell has failed to meet profit targets in its last two quarters and it is struggling in a competitive global market at a time when attention has increasingly focused on the standard of its customer service and its reliance on its direct-sales model of web and phone, has been called into question.

Consumers and small businesses, which together account for 20 percent of Dell's revenue, have to contend with problems such as spyware and other issues that may be software related, but for non-IT experienced individuals, are easier to handle face-to-face at a store.

Dell reported in May an 18% drop in net income in its second quarter.

Dell said in May that it would begin using chips manufactured by Intel rival AMD and it would also open two US mall stores this summer as a market test, making them a hybrid of Dell's direct model and a conventional electronics store. Dell's products will be on display but not for sale. Customers will be able to order a PC, television or printer online from the store. Products will be delivered to the customer as if they had ordered from a PC at home, as most of its customers do.