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Entropy, the Irish Internet security company, will increase its workforce from 140 now to 500 over the next five years.
"To facilitate this expansion the company could look to raise up to IEP20 million within 12 months of securing our present round of financing," said Conall Lavery, Managing Director of Entropy.
If the company secures leasing deals for software licences this figure could be halved to IEP10 million in a round of financing which would take place in 18 to 24 months according to Lavery.
Entropy is at an advanced stage of raising IEP10 million in financing to fund the company's expansion move into managed security services aimed at enabling businesses to outsource their security needs.
"The reason we think we can expand like this is because the market for our solutions has increased by 40 percent per annum, as opposed to the 25 percent we built our business plan on," said Lavery.
Lavery said the company is looking to employ an extra 40 people by the middle of 2001.
"Managed services are growing by 190 percent a year, and this growth is forecast to continue for the next five years," said Lavery.
Lavery said the company is looking to strike deals with leading software providers, especially in the financial sector, which would see Entropy leasing out software rather than having to buy the licences.
The company has been in talks with a number of European companies, including Societe General backed ECS, with a view to securing deals on this basis. This would reduce the capital outlay which Entropy has to carry when purchasing licences for software.
Lavery said the company is looking at achieving a turnover of around USD100 million by 2003, a relatively small segment of a market forecast to be worth USD5.2 billion world-wide.
The UK and German markets will be the first to be targeted by Entropy, he said. As well as setting up network operating centres Entropy will also look at securing reseller deals for its services in new markets.
The company is also investigating linking up with the many hosting and co-location facilities in Ireland with a view to providing managed services to companies being hosted in those facilities.
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