US Tech Firm To Create New Jobs In Belfast

US firm Safety NetAccess have announced that they are to establish a new Software Development & Sales Support Centre in Belfast with the creation of up to 40 new jobs.

Safety NetAccess designs, builds and supports wireless networks and technology solutions for hotels, resorts, apartments, and other public properties. It provides software and services to over 4,000 properties and 125+ million connected devices on average daily.

Speaking about its investment, Safety NetAccess Vice President, Software Development, Resham Patel, said: "We are proud of the fact that, despite the challenges of the last 18 months due to the pandemic, we have continued to grow our business. We are ambitious for the future, and this new Software Development & Sales Support Centre will help us realise these ambitions.

"The NI team will initially focus on software development to ensure we remain competitive in our key telecoms market. Longer-term, we plan to expand our markets and will look to recruit team members including developers, sales engineers, and salespersons within the Belfast centre to develop the UK/Europe markets for us.

"We considered several alternative locations to establish this new Centre, including the US, India, and the Republic of Ireland. However, through our meetings with other investors, the universities, and the information provided by Invest Northern Ireland, we are confident we will have access to both the skilled workforce and future graduates we need right here."

The NI team's core function will provide technical support services to customers across the USA and Canada. The new roles will initially work from home, but ultimately Safety NetAccess intends to have a local hub office.

The company aims to create 40 new jobs by 2023. Once all in place, the project will generate additional annual salaries of c£1.4m into the NI economy. Invest Northern Ireland has offered £270,000 of support towards the new roles.

Kevin Holland, Invest NI CEO, said: "We hosted a week-long visit to Northern Ireland for the company, just before the COVID pandemic. The introductions to existing investors, universities, colleges, industry contacts, and recruiters gave the company essential insight into the sector, the quality of our workforce, and the pipeline of future graduates.

"We have a pipeline of over 1,400 new ICT graduates a year and a range of post-graduate conversion and training programmes available for those interested in working in the growing NI ICT sector of 30,000 people. We look forward to seeing Safety NetAccess grow its business and to supporting it in whatever way we can."