Belfast start-up software company SpeechStorm is to create nine new jobs in the city on the back of a stg£81,000 investment from Invest NI.
The new jobs, which include executive positions, will bring the total number of employees at the four-year-old company to 24.
SpeechStorm specialises in Interactive Voice Response (IVR) and mobile customer service applications, and the funding will support its growth plans over the next three years.
Oliver Lennon, CEO of SpeechStorm, said the company’s strategy for that time period is to grow revenues significantly and establish SpeechStorm as a leading contact centre applications provider in Europe, the US, and its home markets of the UK and Ireland.
“We have already secured a number of significant contracts in Europe and North America,” Lennon said.
“These new jobs are crucial to us moving quickly to take advantage of further new opportunities we’ve identified. They will also allow us to further develop the valuable partnerships we have established with key global players in the industry.”
Brian Dolaghan, Invest NI’s executive director, Business and Sector Development Group, hailed SpeechStorm as a good example of an indigenous, knowledge-based company that has invested in developing a quality product with global application.
“The company has invested heavily in research and development in recent years and also in the establishment of a number of significant partnership deals, which give it a solid route into new export markets,” Dolaghan said.
“These new jobs will allow SpeechStorm to target new markets and generate new revenue streams from its recent product development.”
SpeechStorm’s clients and partners include Eircom, BSkyB, and bpost (Belgian Post Office).