CASE STUDY

Irish Continental Group

Building Secure Digital Foundations at ICG

Date24/03/2026CategoryDigital Innovation

Irish Continental Group (ICG) is a leading Irish‑based maritime transport group with a central role in Ireland’s trade, logistics and tourism infrastructure. Operating across ferry services, container shipping, terminal operations and ship chartering, ICG connects Ireland with Britain and Continental Europe through a modern fleet and strategically located port facilities.

The Group operates through two core divisions: Irish Ferries, delivering passenger, car and roll‑on/roll‑off freight services on key short‑sea routes, and its Container and Terminal Division, which provides lift‑on/lift‑off container shipping through the Eucon brand and operates major container terminals in Dublin and Belfast.

With 24/7 operations at critical gateways to global markets, reliability, safety and operational integrity are fundamental to ICG’s business. Ongoing investment in vessels, infrastructure and digital systems ensures the Group can operate efficiently today while preparing for future growth and innovation

The problem

ICG isn’t running one standalone technology project, it’s on an ongoing digital innovation journey across a complex operational environment. That means technology has to underpin daily business performance while also enabling what comes next.

The challenge was to ensure platforms stayed resilient and scalable, with the security and reliability needed to support innovation safely.

At the same time, commercial governance mattered: licensing and cost control needed to be treated as strategic priorities, not technical afterthoughts.

The solution

ICG chose to work with HCS as a long-term partner with trust and integrity at the centre of the relationship. Together, the focus is on the broader transformation journey and on building value through Microsoft technology across cloud and business applications.

Microsoft provides a secure, scalable foundation, while HCS supports ICG with practical delivery, governance, and responsive support, keeping the foundations stable, optimising Microsoft licensing, and helping ICG adopt innovation (including AI-enabled capabilities) in a considered, business-aligned way.

For us, this journey required a partner rather than a supplier. Trust is critical in a business like ours, particularly when you’re making long‑term technology decisions. With HCS, the relationship is built on integrity and long‑term value.

Gerry Rogers, ICG

Chief Information Technology Officer

Results

Improvements in productivity, visibility, and system usability

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Resilient, scalable foundations

Platforms designed to support business-as-usual today while staying ready for what the organisation needs next.

Trusted long-term partnership

A partnership built on integrity and long-term value, not transactional supply.

Secure, stable operations

Security and reliability treated as fundamentals so innovation can happen safely and confidently.

Optimised licensing governance

Microsoft licensing aligned to how the business operates, with cost control treated strategically.

Modern ways of working

A Microsoft-backed foundation across cloud and business applications that supports day-to-day productivity.

AI-ready innovation roadmap

AI-enabled capabilities approached in a considered way, focused on real productivity and efficiency outcomes.

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