Recruitment has already started for the initial group of 30 jobs to be created by a US-based software security company which confirmed yesterday that it is to temporarily locate its R&D facility in the Galway Technology Centre in Mervue.
When recruitment is complete, the company will then decide where to locate on a permanent basis and it has already looked at several potential locations throughout the city.
The announcement, revealed exclusively in last week’s Galway Advertiser will see the new office serving as a hub for Lumension’s product research and development, initially creating 30 jobs in the region for highly skilled individuals to help build out its powerful suite of endpoint security solutions.
Company executives revealed yesterday that rather than being put off by the downturn in the economy, the company is using the current fallbacks to take advantage of the large pool of software engineering talent available in the region.
They also revealed that Ireland had beaten off competition from India and China to get the plant, and that within Ireland, Galway had been chosen ahead of several other potential locations around the country.
Lumension’s expansion into Ireland has been supported by the Government through IDA Ireland and making the announcement Minister Michael Finneran said “the decision by a company of the calibre of Lumension to choose Ireland as the location for this significant investment in information technology adds further impetus to Ireland’s reputation as a leading location for software development operations.”
Colleen Shannon, CFO and SVP of finance and administration for Lumension who travelled from Arizona for the announcement said that her own Irish heritage had been a factor in the decision, but that over the years, Ireland has proven itself to be a vibrant economy that boasts technological innovation at many levels.
“The Irish Government and IDA’s innovative approach to attracting a highly skilled pool of talent in the technology area combined with modern infrastructure and flexible business environment are the reasons why we selected Galway for our new global R&D centre.
“We are committed to continuing our efforts in recruiting and advancing the research and development for our industry leading solutions that help organisations protect their vital information and manage critical risk across their IT network and endpoints,” she said.
Lumension firmly believes that the new region will help drive operational excellence based on Ireland’s attractive tax incentives, further allowing the company to streamline costs across the entire organisation while focusing on technology innovation.
According to the US Department of State, Ireland is proving to be an attractive location to many U.S. businesses based on numerous factors, including the quality and flexibility of the English-speaking workforce, co-operative labour relations, political stability, pro-business government policies, strong intellectual property protection, and an existing cluster of international corporations operating successfully.
Lumension has maintained a strong presence in Europe since 1991 and supports additional EMEA offices in Luxembourg, the United Kingdom and Spain. Worldwide headquarters for Lumension are located in Scottsdale, Arizona.
Local city councillor Michael Crowe welcomed the announcement and said that while 30 jobs does not seem like many, in these times every single additional new job is welcome.
“We had to compete with Northern Ireland, Europe and India to get this company and it shows that we can compete and win. The IDA team led locally by Jim Murren are to be applauded for this achievement,” he said.
Recruitment for the jobs has already started (See the advertisement on Page 45 ) and interest is said to be high in the positions which are paying what the company describe as competitive rates.
Lumension Security, Inc, a global leader in operational endpoint management and security, develops, integrates, and markets security software solutions that help businesses protect their vital information and manage critical risk across network and endpoint assets.
