Software firm Q1 Labs to create 50 jobs in Belfast

The Enterprise Minister, Arlene Foster, has announced that 50 jobs are to be created in Northern Ireland by an IT security firm.

Q1 Labs is to establish its European, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) headquarters in Belfast.

Ms Foster made the announcement during the US investment trip by NI ministers.

She praised Invest NI for helping to secure the investment which is expected to generate £2m annually in salaries by 2012.

Q1 Labs is based in Massachusetts and its customers include, energy firms, utility companies and financial institutions.

It already has an EMEA sales office in Oxford.

Its flagship product, QRadar, helps IT staff to monitor computer network usage and quickly identify threats such as viruses or hacker attacks.

Competition

Speaking from Washington, Ms Foster said the announcement was "a timely and welcome endorsement of the skills base which continues to attract high tech companies to Northern Ireland".

"Global competition for such high quality investment projects has never been higher, so for Invest NI to succeed in attracting the EMEA headquarters of a highly innovative technology company, is a commendable achievement," she added.

Brendan Hannigan of Q1 Labs, said the "globally recognised quality" of IT skills in Northern Ireland and Invest NI's support had made Belfast its location of choice.

He said the company looked forward to "commencing recruitment for senior and associate level engineers in the coming weeks".

Earlier this month the company, which is privately held, passed the 1000 customer mark and said its customer base has doubled since 2008.

Ms Foster joined the First Minister, Peter Robinson and the Deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness at a business briefing, chaired by US Economic Envoy, Declan Kelly, on Tuesday, where the growth and investment opportunities in Northern Ireland were discussed.