SEAGATE Technology has become the flagship of Derry's economic regeneration.
Its success is the most crucial development as the drive towards hitech industry allows the city to move away from dependency on textiles.
Even before today's announcement, inward investment to Derry over the past four years has been about £200 million, coming from Seagate, Fruit of the Loom, Stream International and a local company, Perfect Seal, which attracted American investment. Seagate's expansion is expected to act as a magnet for others.
Derry has been relatively trouble free since the late 1980s. However, an IRA ceasefire is crucial both for investment and tourism. For the moment, however, people are slow to subscribe to the "boom town" theory.
A businessman, Mr Garbhan O'Doherty, who has just opened a city centre hotel, believes the potential for take off is there, but adds: "We need fresh money coming from industrial jobs and tourism, as happened in the South. But an IRA ceasefire is vital.
On the surface the city is showing all the signs of regeneration. The opening of the massive Foyleside shopping centre in late 1995 doubled overnight the retail space available. However, the, arrival of many high street chains has severely squeezed family owned shops. Mr Luke Hassan of the city's oldest department store, Austins, admits that some are "suffering grievously".
Many say the development taking place is too retail led and is failing to tackle Derry's real problems. A Magee College economics lecturer, Mr George Johnson, says the trend in Derry is similar to that in Britain.
"Seventy to 80 per cent of new jobs are in the service sector and they tend to be low paid, with low job security, and they are predominantly taken up by women. But our real problem is long term chronic male unemployment and the development going on is not biting into that."
Unemployment in some parts is higher than 40 per cent. Rates are falling but many community workers believe the real figures are much higher.
Mr Conal McFeely, of the Northern Ireland Cooperative Development Agency (NICDA), which supports community led initiatives, says: "There are a lot of people who feel socially excluded because they can't get into the labour market." Education and training are seen as the key. Mr McFeely believes long term targeted programmes are needed as existing short term schemes aren't working. He is also concerned that Derry is being promoted as a low wage economy, and is wary of multinationals.
Perceptions of the city's regeneration differ. Many on the nationalist side believe policy makers in Belfast and government agencies would rather see investment going east of the Bann, and that Derry has only done well because of huge efforts by people like Mr John Hume.
Unionists regularly complain that all the new development is taking place on the Catholic "West Bank". John Hume regards this as "absolute nonsense". Mr Ken Rooney, administrator of the Fountain Area Partnership, which was set up to bring jobs into that working class Protestant district, says nobody from that community got a job in Seagate because they didn't apply.
Mr Kenneth Allen, vice president of Seagate, admits it has been harder to attract applications from the Protestant Waterside, but stresses that the Fair Employment Commission is satisfied with the company's record.
For many, lack of education is critical. Mr Mark Patterson, a youth worker, says: "Education is an attractive option only for the fast trackers." He worries that too many Derry youngsters leave school at 16 to take up factory jobs which offer limited prospects and soon lose their appeal.
Within the UK, Northern Ireland prides itself on producing the highest proportion of high achievers, but it also has the greatest percentage of people who leave school without qualifications.