Cork internet service provider Strencom has landed a €100,000 broadband contract to connect the European and US headquarters of Big Fish Games.
Big Fish Games distributes over 1.5m casual games a day and operates its European headquarters in Cork where is currently recruiting 100 staff.
The deal with Strencom will see Big Fish provided with a 100Mbps internet connection.
The Strencom solution will ensure the uninterrupted connectivity between the US and the newly opened European headquarters.
“It’s great to see that Ireland is now seen as one of the leading destinations for the location of online gaming companies,” Tim Murphy, CEO, Strencom said.
“Big Fish Games will have an extremely positive impact on the local economy and, importantly, will be a beacon for similar international companies looking for a European base,” Murphy said.
Big Fish Games works with almost 500 games developers worldwide and distributes over 1.5 million casual games per day online resulting in massive bandwidth requirements. Its worldwide headquarters share customer platforms, databases and business applications.
“Ireland was chosen as our European headquarters based on the availability of a highly skilled, educated and multilingual workforce,” Oliver Coughlan, Vice President European Business Operations, Big Fish Games explained.
“Specifically, Cork offered a multicultural society with a burgeoning technology cluster and access to a Metropolitan Area Network (MAN) that could guarantee our heavy bandwidth requirements at a highly competitive cost,” Coughlan said..
Big Fish Games is experiencing considerable growth outside its domestic US market with international gamers now accounting for over 50pc of its customer base, leading to its decision to locate in Cork.
“There is no doubt MAN-enabled towns are getting significant competitive advantage in terms of IDA job creation,” Conal Henry, CEO of E-net, who manage the state-owned MANs, explained.
“The 27 Phase 1 MAN enabled towns have increased their share of IDA inward investment from 24pc in 2004 to over 70pc in 2008. Simply put, these towns are now habitually getting the vast majority of new foreign direct investment,” Henry added.
By John Kennedy
Pictured: Oliver Coughlan, Big Fish Games and Tim Murphy, Strencom
