AMERICAN technology firm Black Duck Software is to open a new open source security research group, based in Belfast creating 58 jobs.
The new offices will be focused on security research as well as Black Duck’s full range of open source security and management products, and professional services.
The company develops software solutions to secure and manage open source software, reducing challenges related to security vulnerabilities, compliance and operational risk.
Invest NI has offered support of £377,000 towards the new jobs which will be created over the next four years with an average salary of £37,000.
CEO of the Massachusetts-headquartered company Lou Shipley said: “We are seeking to increase our open source security research capabilities as well as grow our business and support our customers in the UK and Europe.
"We considered a number of places for this new open source security research group, and found that Belfast had the depth of security research talent that fit our needs.
“We recognised very quickly that Northern Ireland has both the high-quality tech professionals to meet our open source research needs and a growing cluster of cybersecurity focused businesses which will continue to attract more attractive candidates as we scale our business there.
"We worked closely with Invest NI, which played a key role in helping us establish in Northern Ireland, and will be a key strategic partner, helping us scale our activities here in the future. This makes Northern Ireland the optimum location for us.”
Economy minister Simon Hamilton said Black Duck's decision to locate in the north, "demonstrates the talent and pool of high quality technology professionals available in Northern Ireland".
"Operating in 24 countries worldwide, the company’s decision to locate their new research group here is testament to the strength of our local ICT sector.
“The 58 new jobs being created will contribute over £2 million annually in additional salaries to the local economy as well as offering our talented graduates and experienced staff highly paid employment opportunities, helping to further grow the Northern Ireland cybersecurity cluster.
“Northern Ireland has invested significantly in cybersecurity research and in growing the number of computer science students at both Queen’s and Ulster universities in recent years. Belfast is Europe’s leading destination city for software development investment and Black Duck Software has joined a growing cluster of world-class companies choosing to invest in Northern Ireland.
“Earlier this week I visited the United States to meet prospective and existing investors. The region remains our number one foreign direct investor and today’s announcement is excellent news for our local economy, once again highlighting that Northern Ireland is a great place to do business.”
