By Business & Finance 
Minister Pat Rabbitte TD has welcomed the announcement by Irish-owned Agile Networks that it is to double its workforce over the next 18 months, creating 16 new full-time jobs in the technology sector.
The Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources has welcomed the jobs news, ahead of his visit to officially open Agile Networks’ new offices in Blanchardstown later today.
Since it was set up after a successful management buy-out in 2011, Agile Networks has recorded remarkable growth figures, achieving €2.3m in turnover in its first year, growing to an estimated €7m in 2014. Starting off with six employees in 2011, the new jobs represent a fivefold increase in staff numbers and as a result, the company is moving into bigger offices to accommodate its rapid expansion.
Offering a full lifecycle of integration services for organisations such as HEAnet, Analog Devices, the ESB and 14 of the top 25 internet service providers in Ireland, the company has grown its client base from just seven customers in 2011 to 53 this year. It currently supports over one million end users, across 1,200 sites.
Speaking ahead of his visit to Agile Networks, Minister Rabbitte said: “Emerging start-ups, like Agile Networks, are great examples of how Irish companies are quickly becoming world-class providers of specialist IT services. As envisaged in the Government’s National Digital Strategy, Agile Networks, together with other providers, are helping more Irish businesses and consumers to get on-line and to stay connected more securely.”
According to the managing director of Agile Networks, Darragh Richardson, the impressive growth in the sector is being driven by increasing demand for customised support and services. He said: “Since the very beginning, we have set out to become a specialised network integrator, offering a unique ‘focal engineer’ model. We have seen a significant move away from the traditional ‘break/fix’ model of support, to a much more proactive managed service.”
Recruitment is underway for the new positions, which will be based at Agile Networks’ new Blanchardstown headquarters in Ballycoolin. Of the new roles announced today, 11 will be for engineering and technical positions with five jobs across sales and administration.
Richardson added: “As Agile Networks expands over the next 18 months, we will continue to focus on what we do best: to design, build and support complex IT networks for some of the country’s best known companies, serving over one million end users.”
There was further good news for Agile Networks recently, when it won the 2014 ‘Emerging New Business’ award from the Small Firms Association. It was also named one of the ‘Top 100 Businesses in Europe’ at the European Business Awards; the company is nominated in the ‘Award for Customer Focus’ category and the overall winners will be announced at the European Business Awards ceremony in Athens on May 27th.
