This article is from the source 'guardian' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.
You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2012/dec/03/dropbox-dublin-office
The article has changed 3 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
| Version 1 | Version 2 |
|---|---|
| Dropbox chooses Dublin for first office outside US | Dropbox chooses Dublin for first office outside US |
| (4 months later) | |
| The cloud-based file storage and sharing service Dropbox is opening its first international office in Dublin, and plans to hire between 30 and 40 people by the end of 2013, the company says. | The cloud-based file storage and sharing service Dropbox is opening its first international office in Dublin, and plans to hire between 30 and 40 people by the end of 2013, the company says. |
| The hirings will be added to the 240 people in its San Francisco headquarters, but will principally focus on sales and customer support rather than engineering development. | The hirings will be added to the 240 people in its San Francisco headquarters, but will principally focus on sales and customer support rather than engineering development. |
| Having seen rapid growth – and turned down an offer for the company from Steve Jobs in 2009 – Dropbox is now looking to accelerate its dramatic growth, which has seen it reach 100 million users worldwide, with more than one new user joining each second. | Having seen rapid growth – and turned down an offer for the company from Steve Jobs in 2009 – Dropbox is now looking to accelerate its dramatic growth, which has seen it reach 100 million users worldwide, with more than one new user joining each second. |
| The fast-growing startup, founded in 2007, joins a number of other US companies including Google, Twitter, Facebook, Apple, Salesforce.com and LinkedIn by choosing Dublin for its non-US headquarters. | The fast-growing startup, founded in 2007, joins a number of other US companies including Google, Twitter, Facebook, Apple, Salesforce.com and LinkedIn by choosing Dublin for its non-US headquarters. |
| Mitra Lohrasbpour, head of business development at Dropbox, said that the low-tax regime in place in Ireland was not the principal factor for the choice of venue. "We took a look at cities in Europe with strong technical people - Dublin had a passionate pool of talent. There are many cities were technical company can be successful, but Dublin had a strong user base and they also had multilingual skills that weren't available elsewhere … There are other considerations, such as the timezone, as they had to coordinate with the headquarters in San Francisco, and the expansibility of the office." | Mitra Lohrasbpour, head of business development at Dropbox, said that the low-tax regime in place in Ireland was not the principal factor for the choice of venue. "We took a look at cities in Europe with strong technical people - Dublin had a passionate pool of talent. There are many cities were technical company can be successful, but Dublin had a strong user base and they also had multilingual skills that weren't available elsewhere … There are other considerations, such as the timezone, as they had to coordinate with the headquarters in San Francisco, and the expansibility of the office." |
| She declined to say how important tax considerations had been in the choice of venue. But with the company already cashflow-positive - and hence profitable on an operational basis. | She declined to say how important tax considerations had been in the choice of venue. But with the company already cashflow-positive - and hence profitable on an operational basis. |
| Dropbox is broadly split in terms of users around the world, with one-third of the 100m in Europe, one-third in Asia, and one-third in the rest of the world, including the US. People in 95% of the Fortune 500 richest companies are said to use it. | Dropbox is broadly split in terms of users around the world, with one-third of the 100m in Europe, one-third in Asia, and one-third in the rest of the world, including the US. People in 95% of the Fortune 500 richest companies are said to use it. |
| The Dublin office will provide sales support for the company's "Business" offering, an extension of its paid-for product, as well as user support for technical problems. Lohrasbpour emphasised that staff in the US who carry out that function are engineers: "it's very technical - we try to solve hard problems at Dropbox." | The Dublin office will provide sales support for the company's "Business" offering, an extension of its paid-for product, as well as user support for technical problems. Lohrasbpour emphasised that staff in the US who carry out that function are engineers: "it's very technical - we try to solve hard problems at Dropbox." |
| Lohrasbpour said Dropbox's mission is to "simplify users' lives by allowing all their data to sit in one place, and make it easy to do with that data what they want." With competition growing from big companies, including Google, Microsoft and Apple, and peers such as YouSendIt, she said that the company's focus is "all on the end user". [Corrected "Eire" to "Ireland".] | Lohrasbpour said Dropbox's mission is to "simplify users' lives by allowing all their data to sit in one place, and make it easy to do with that data what they want." With competition growing from big companies, including Google, Microsoft and Apple, and peers such as YouSendIt, she said that the company's focus is "all on the end user". [Corrected "Eire" to "Ireland".] |
| • This article was amended on 21 May 2013 because the original referred to Mitra Lohrasbpour as "he". This has been corrected. | • This article was amended on 21 May 2013 because the original referred to Mitra Lohrasbpour as "he". This has been corrected. |
| Our editors' picks for the day's top news and commentary delivered to your inbox each morning. |