Reports have emerged that OpenJaw, a Dublin-based technology firm, is expanding its workforce, with 50 jobs to be filled.
OpenJaw Technologies is having a busy month of May, with the travel technology company gearing up for a summit in Dublin, revealing a new partnership with Ludex and setting an optimistic target to dramatically increase its staff numbers.
The latter is according to various reports over the weekend, which claimed that the company ultimately wants to double its global workforce over the next three years.
To up its headcount to 450, OpenJaw will fill 50 new positions at its Irish offices, including at Galway Technology Park in Ballybrit.
The roles will include technical engineering staff, as part of a wider expansion of the firm’s Irish operations in Galway and Dublin.
OpenJaw creates software for travel companies to better monetise their offering, for example, enabling airlines to process payments on board. It works with a plethora of travel companies, including British Airways, Cathay Pacific, Iberia Airlines, Four Seasons, Avis and Air Miles.
Last week, OpenJaw revealed a partnership with Dublin start-up Ludex, to help develop a chatbot, one of the emerging areas of digital business.
The chatbot is designed in response to the increasing customer service questions received by airlines via social media versus traditional channels, such as call centres or emails.
Something similar was developed by KLM Airlines last year, when a hybrid between chatbots and traditional customer care was established.
“Travel consumers around the globe live on their mobile phone using social and messaging apps, such as Facebook, WhatsApp and WeChat,” said Kieron Branagan, OpenJaw’s CEO.
“They spend most of their time on these, and not the airline website itself. Therefore, it is imperative that airlines, loyalty programmes and online travel agencies provide a service that allows their customers ask questions, retrieve their boarding passes and flight confirmations on these apps.”