New Metaswitch Center of Excellence Strengthens Global R&D and Regional Technical Support

Metaswitch expects to add more than 90 employees to support growth of cloud-native communications leader

LONDON – September 28, 2016 – Cloud-native communications software leader Metaswitch has announced the opening of a new Center of Excellence in Belfast, Northern Ireland, through which the company can add more than 90 new employees to focus on technical support and research and development. 

“We are delighted that Metaswitch has chosen Belfast for their latest center, joining a growing group of Silicon Valley tech firms which have thriving operations there,” said Gary Hanley, SVP Americas for Invest Northern Ireland. “The region continues to provide a compelling solution for high growth organizations. Not only does it offer an existing highly educated, able and loyal workforce, the region’s government-backed training scheme Assured Skills enables organizations to scale quickly and ensure a pipeline of suitable candidates for future growth.”

Invest Northern Ireland (Invest NI) is the main economic development agency for Northern Ireland. In the U.S. it promotes inward investment and trade with the region from its offices in Boston, New York, Chicago and San Francisco.

The Assured Skills program is jointly coordinated between the Department for the Economy (DfE) Northern Ireland and Invest Northern Ireland, which work closely with businesses to ensure that the skills they need to support growth are available throughout Northern Ireland. Assured Skills supports companies’ business momentum, adding value to their training and skills development efforts by facilitating links with regional further education and university sectors. A Metaswitch Academy has also been launched under the Assured Skills program. The program will see 20 graduates undertake an intensive nine-week training program which will equip them for a career in software support engineering.

“Our expansion into Northern Ireland reinforces our message that new business models are required to compete in today's communications market,” said Graeme MacArthur, executive vice president of engineering and support services at Metaswitch. “We were very impressed by the abundance of technical expertise we’ve found in Northern Ireland, along with the Assured Skills program and the close links it fosters between business and the universities. A Belfast office gives us the opportunity to quickly advance our cloud-native communications software business, powered by the high-quality services, people and competitive operating costs that leaders need.”