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The company is to establish a technical support and back office operation for the EMEA region, which will initially support NetIQ, but which will gradually extend its support to NetIQ's clients.
California-based NetIQ provides support as well as software for corporate networks, primarily Windows NT-based computer systems. Its flagship product, the NetIQ AppManager suite, detects bottlenecks in networks, lags in e-mail response times, and other common network problems. The software also corrects problems and generates management reports. Additionally, the business sells a numbers of other services, including Web analytics, security management and network testing.
The company is to begin recruiting this week in Ireland, to have 80 employees within three years and 180 employees within six years. A spokesperson for the IDA told ElectricNews.Net that most of the new recruits would be graduates, particularly people with multi-lingual skills and financial management or IT infrastructure skills.
The Galway operation, which is to locate at the Parkmore East Business Park, is the largest investment undertaken by NetIQ outside of the US, where almost three-quarters of its clients are based. The IDA spokesperson declined to disclose the amount of financial support that NetIQ received from the IDA, but said that the level of grant aid was not a major priority for NetIQ, which was attracted to Galway by the availability of experienced high-tech workers and the training and R&D capabilities of local educational facilities.
Although the spokesperson acknowledged that 180 jobs over six years is a long timeframe, he said that it was a normal timeframe for an IDA contract. "Once you tie yourself into an IDA contract you are legally obliged to fulfill it," he said. "NetIQ are being conservative about their expansion plans because of the current environment, but they may reach their employment goals in a shorter time period."
NetIQ is based in San Jose, California and employs over 1,200 people in 20 countries. It had revenues of USD278 million for the end of its 2002 fiscal financial year, up from USD167 million for the previous year.
The news follows the announcement of earlier this week from the IDA of 470 new jobs in the Republic. Internet security firm Symantec Corporation is to establish the company's only R&D facility in Europe and will also expand its existing production facility at Blanchardstown, Co. Dublin, creating 250 new jobs. Meanwhile, Dundalk-based Quantum Corporation, a provider of data protection and network storage systems, will create 120 new jobs in production and operations-related areas.
The third investment, which is worth EUR52 million alone, is by Servier Industries for the expansion of its pharmaceutical operation in Arklow, Co. Wicklow. This is expected to add over 100 new jobs and treble the production capacity at the factory.
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