US firm Black Duck Software creates 58 new jobs in Belfast

Economy Minister Simon Hamilton MLA has announced Massachusetts-based Black Duck Software is to open a new open source security research group, based in Belfast creating 58 jobs.

US firm Black Duck Software creates 58 new jobs in Belfast

The new office in Belfast will be focused on cutting-edge open source security research as well as Black Duck’s full range of open source security and management products, and professional services.

Announcing the company’s decision to locate in Northern Ireland, the Minister said: “This significant investment by global security firm Black Duck Software 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 £2million 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.”

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 £377k towards the new jobs which will be created over the next four years with an average salary of £37,000.

Black Duck CEO, 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.”

Notes to editors: 

1. Open-source software (OSS) is computer software with its source code made available with a license in which the copyright holder provides the rights to study, change, and distribute the software to anyone and for any purpose.
2. The Northern Ireland Open Source Security Research Group is a component of Black Duck’s global Center for Open Source Research and Innovation (COSRI).
3. Eight of the 58 jobs are already in place.
4. For media enquiries contact DFE Press Office on 028 9052 9604. Out of office hours please contact the Duty Press Officer via pager number 07623 974383 and your call will be returned.
5. Photos are available to accompany this news release.
6. Follow us on Twitter @Economy_NI

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