25 January 2016
By Bryan T. Smyth
bryan@TheCork.ie
Software provider ‘Hortonworks’ has opened a ‘Centre of Excellence’ in Cork, and with plans to hire 50 people over the coming 18 months.
Hortonworks is the Palo Alto-headquartered company driving adoption of Apache Hadoop, freely-downloadable software for storing, analysing and managing large amounts of data. Founded in 2012, the company became the first of Hadoop distributor in late 2014 to file for IPO.
The Cork move is the latest sign of significant international progress at the US company, following recent openings in London and Sydney.
Cork will provide space for an expanded global technical support team for the more than 750 customers, as well as space for other operational professionals. Hortonworks’ local presence in the region has already seen Trustev, the Cork-based technology company for the financial and e-commerce sectors, opting to enhance its analytics proposition based on the Hortonworks Data Platform.
The announcement is supported by the Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation through IDA Ireland.
Andy Leaver, Vice President of International Operations, Hortonworks said
“The volume and sources of data have increased exponentially and the pressure on Irish businesses to operate in the ‘always-on’ environment has grown dramatically,” stated Liam English, Founder and CEO of Bluemetrix. “The partnership with Hortonworks will further enhance our Hadoop and Big Data capabilities, and help us provide our clients with the most up to date tools, resources and training. This will also enable local businesses to turn data into actionable insights.”
Simon Coveney TD, Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine said
“I am delighted to announce the official opening of Hortonwork’s Offices. This addition builds on the existing track record Cork holds as a Tech Hub and attracting FDI to the region. The local educational institutions UCC and CIT are responsive and continuously working with industry to develop a top class pool of graduates in the southwest region. I wish Hortonworks continued growth and success for the future.”
Cork based Minister Simon Coveney TD
Martin Shanahan, CEO at IDA Ireland said
“Targeting companies in the Big Data space is something the IDA has focused on in recent years. Hortonworks is a prime example of a company thriving in this sector. The 50 new roles that Hortonworks has announced here today will be filled by candidates with Tech Support, Finance, HR, Marketing, IT and Operations backgrounds. Talent remains the number one reason that companies choose to locate in Ireland.”
