Ward Solutions, Ireland’s leading information security provider, today announces an investment of €1.2M as it unveils a new Security Operations Centre (SOC) in Citywest, Dublin 24. The new facility has opened adjacent to Ward’s existing headquarters and will enable significant expansion of its managed security service offerings to businesses in the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland.
The investment includes the purchase of a new 5,000 sq. feet building, the design and development of a new SOC and the refurbishment of Ward’s existing offices. It includes new best-in-class threat monitoring, risk assessment and incident response technologies and is being staffed by a team of information security engineers and consultants who will protect businesses through prevention, analysis, detection and rapid response to a growing level of cyber threats.
Security Operations Centre will enhance managed security services for customers
The SOC will deliver and enhance Ward Solution’s core services, including managed firewall, digital forensics, eDiscovery, managed intrusion protection and detection systems, and managed security event and incident management (SIEM). Through combining Ward’s in-house skills and resources, it will also enable a significant expansion of its range of managed security services.
This investment is a platform for sustained business growth for Ward Solutions and is a key part of its wider growth strategy. Last year, the company announced it would add 22 new positions and the company is on target to employ 80 staff and increase revenue to more than €10 million by 2016. The investment gives Ward the capacity to grow further to more than 100 in the coming years.
Ward has also set its sights on expanding its business further into the UK in 2017. Along with its office in Belfast, the SOC will play an integral role in enabling Ward to penetrate the competitive UK market and grow a significant presence there.
Speaking at the launch, Pat Larkin, CEO, Ward Solutions said: “The new SOC is a platform for sustainable growth for Ward Solutions and a manifestation of how far we’ve come. Bolstered by the best people and the latest innovative technologies, the SOC will give our customers in the private and public sectors access to the most advanced information security services in a world with ever-growing and new threats.
“Ireland is an ideal location for a modern facility like this. Aside from our ICT skills and technology innovation reputation, our status as a neutral country makes us a desirable location to host and provide these security services for multinational companies, which have complex information security requirements and may have concerns over documented national security agencies’ interference in the sector in other countries. We have the largest and most capable team of consultants in Ireland and the SOC will allow us to mobilise quickly to solve any IT security problems for our customers. We continue to invest time and budget into R&D, creating new solutions to increase our customers’ security and compliance.”
Paul Hogan, CTO, Ward Solutions, added: “Today marks a very important milestone for Ward Solutions as we open our new Security Operations Centre. This world-class facility will provide customers with some of the most advanced risk assessment and threat detection technologies in the Irish market. Our highly accredited team of security analysts and consultants now have a very dynamic and collaborative working environment which is second-to-none in this country.”
Founded in 1999, Ward Solutions provides a comprehensive range of information security services to more than 300 customers across the island of Ireland. Its customers include a wide range of private and public sector organisations, such as CIE, Vodafone, Glanbia, National College of Ireland, Bord Gáis, and the Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation.