From left: Michael Conley; Holly Steele; Robert Hannigan; Dan Boyle, mayor of Cork; and Ger Kirby. Image: BlueVoyant
The cybersecurity company plans to grow its headcount from nine to at least 15, it said.
US-based cybersecurity company BlueVoyant opened its first permanent office in Ireland in the form of a Security Operations Centre (SOC) in Cork last week. The new centre is part of the company’s multimillion-euro investment in the Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) region since 2017, where its revenue grew by 70pc in 2024.
The company currently has nine local employees in Cork and plans to grow its headcount to at least 15. While it has more than 120 cybersecurity experts employed across EU member states and at its SOC and customer experience centre in Leeds, UK.
The Cork SOC will provide 24-hour monitoring for Irish and EU clients, the company said, as they navigate new, stringent EU cybersecurity regulations including the NIS2 and DORA, as well as the increase in reported cyberthreats and attacks.
“We made the strategic choice to locate our new EU Security Operations Centre in Cork due to its status as a leading technology hub for multinational and start-up organisations alike,” said Robert Hannigan, the head of international business at BlueVoyant, and former director of GCHQ.
“Cork offers talented technology students from excellent universities and colleges in the region. We are excited to add skilful employees to the BlueVoyant team. The EU remains a strategic priority for BlueVoyant and we excited to expand our EMEA footprint and continue our record growth.”
According to the company, Cork’s ranking as the fastest growing city in Ireland by the National Planning Framework also added to BlueVoyant’s decision to choose the city as its Irish base. Cork is also a popular location for multinational tech companies expanding in the EU, including IBM, Intel, Apple and Logitech.
The new Cork centre is managed by Ger Kirby, the company’s SOC manager for UK and EMEA. Kirby spent more than 20 years serving in the Irish defence forces, where he worked as a cybersecurity manager for more than five years.
“As a Cork native, I am honoured by the opportunity to have local talent provide industry-leading cyber defence for organisations across Ireland and the world,” said Kirby. “With new EU cybersecurity and privacy regulations, it’s more crucial than ever for enterprises to ensure they are quickly finding and mitigating the latest threats.”
BlueVoyant has more than 1,000 customers across more than 45 countries. Last year, the company was named Microsoft’s Worldwide Security Partner of the Year.
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