Thin client network software maker Citrix is planning to double its employment in Ireland with the creation of 30 new highly skilled technology jobs by the end of this year as part of a €1.2m expansion, siliconrepublic.com has learned.
Senior management at Citrix in Ireland indicated that depending on the success of the venture the total amount invested could double to €2.4m.
It is understood that the expansion, which involves the construction of a new purpose-built facility, came about through a business pitch by Citrix’s Dublin management aimed at deploying higher value-add services to the company’s growing customer base in Ireland.
Martin Kelly, senior director of the Dublin technical services centre, told siliconrepublic.com: “We originally started out in Dublin doing low-level technical support from a call centre but felt there was a need to establish a higher value-add technology centre while at the same time doing the original low level work. Hence we’ve decided to create 30 new higher level technology jobs and are seeking the cream of Ireland’s IT talent.”
Citrix’s technology enables on-demand access to enterprise, corporate information and applications anytime, anywhere and on any device over any network connection and is being deployed by a growing number of large Irish-based blue-chip firms as well as by SMEs.
Citrix is looking to recruit the country’s top IT talent to address both the increasing complexity of in-bound enquiries and to support the growing EMEA customer base. Its recruitment of senior-level IT engineers over the last two years has resulted in the Dublin facility now handling 98pc of all technical queries for the EMEA region. The company is recruiting for technical specialists across a range of disciplines including escalation engineers, technical training specialists, third-level development engineers and technical relationship managers.
While the company is investing €1.2m in the construction of a new facility, Kelly said that the total figure invested could potentially double as the local centre meets challenging metrics set down by head office in London, such as increased customer service contract renewal rates and increased revenues.
“The amount quoted [€1.2m] is related to the cost of the physical move. However, ongoing investment related to the services that we sell and the commercial success of those services could result in the total value of investment doubling over time,” he said.
The new centre will extend the services currently available to thousands of technical engineers and consultants from Citrix’s EMEA channel network. These include technical training, advanced testing and troubleshooting at the ‘Access Lab’, and the development of best practice documentation and technical guides.
“Since the launch of the first services centre over four years ago, the scope and range of technical support offered by the team have increased in volume and complexity,” said Stefan Sjostrom, vice president, EMEA, at Citrix. “The extension of our channel network, growth of our customer base into new industry sectors and the widespread adoption of on-demand working has contributed to the exponential growth of the support organisation.
“Our access infrastructure solutions allow businesses to make on-demand working for employees a reality, while helping to eliminate their concerns over security, productivity and information access,” added Sjostrom. “The adoption of the Citrix MetaFrame Access Suite reinforces my belief that this model is transforming business as we know it.”
Frank Conlon, regional director, East region at IDA Ireland, added: “Citrix is a great example of a company going from strength to strength in Ireland, having taken advantage of the highly skilled IT resource available. This latest recruitment drive shows the impact of having a strong team that can build loyalty and commitment on the part of its partners and customers alike.”
By John Kennedy
