Ecora Software chooses Cork as its base for European expansion

US software company Ecora Software has finalised discussions with IDA Ireland to locate its European Headquarters in Cork the Tánaiste Mary Harney TD announced today (Monday, 21^st June 2004). The office is the first for the company outside of the US and will manage the software development, research, sales and marketing functions for the company in markets outside of the Americas. Up to 60 new jobs are expected to be created in the Centre over the next five years.

Ecora develops tools which automatically deploy software security patches, which are primarily used by companies to fight virus and hacker attacks on corporate networks. The firm also develops software that tracks and documents network configuration settings.

“This investment by Ecora is an important addition to the range of quality international services locating in the Cork area”, said the Tánaiste. “Such quality services continue to add to the range of skilled employment being offered in the region and is further confirmation that Ireland continues to attract high quality investors ”, she added.

The new HQ will drive the corporation’s expansion and growth in new markets across Ireland and the United Kingdom, initially, with eventual expansion into other regions as well. It will house the marketing, research & development, engineering and technical support functions. The Centre will allow the company to better target specific markets and offer higher levels of customer support and streamline services and sales levels to clients. As the company develops its Cork base Ecora plans to form strong linkages and relationships with the third level colleges in Cork to strengthen its R&D functions and tap into the world class skills and expertise there. The Centre will also service the needs of Ecora's existing client base of over 1,600 clients across 45 countries including Motorola, IBM, Merrill Lynch and Fleet Securities.

“We are truly excited and stimulated by this new chapter in our company history,” says Alex Bakman, Ecora Software’s founder and CEO. “Because of its location, and its talented and enthusiastic labour pool, Cork is an ideal location to launch and manage our European operations. Cork has knowledgeable workers with skills to grasp our products’ subtleties and communicate effectively with IT managers throughout the market.”

Liam Baylor, manager of Ecora’s European headquarters, welcomes the opportunity to introduce the full Ecora line to a market he describes as “ready and waiting for our solution. All companies need to know and understand the status of their information networks,” he continues. “We will succeed because we provide that information quickly and reliably, and in easily understood formats.”

Mary Buckley, Area Director – South, IDA Ireland welcomes Ecora to Cork. “This knowledge based project was won against competition from other large European centres. The expertise of UCC in constraint computing was a significant factor in Ecora choosing Cork as their European base” she said.

Concentrating on highly skilled activities the majority of the workforce will be made up of third level graduates. Skills required will include multi-lingual software engineering, software quality assurance and localisation skills, marketing and language skills for a range of positions in software, R&D, sales and marketing, contract renewals and technical support.