eSentire

There’s a global shortage of cybersecurity professionals, it’s well documented that it’s very hard to hire and retain cybersecurity professionals. We’ve been able to hire very high-quality talent, who are doing a great job. There’s a very strong work ethic and culture here, eSentire has several very, very strong partnerships, and I emphasise the word ‘partnership’. A good example is Munster Technological University: they have what I would describe as the leading programme in cybersecurity in Ireland, hands down.

Ciaran Luttrell

Site Lead and Senior Director of eSentire Cork Centre

eSentire

eSentire is a leading global cybersecurity solutions company, founded in Canada in 2001. The company specialises in managed detection and response to cybersecurity incidents. It achieved ‘unicorn’ status in 2022 after a funding round valued the company at more than $1.1 billion.

Expanding its portfolio in Cork City

The company’s operation in Cork city is an example of the ‘land and expand’ principle in action for multinationals that set up in Ireland. It first set up there in 2015, with a Security Operations Centre (SOC) that employed a team of highly-trained cybersecurity analysts. Since then, the Irish site has repeatedly proved its value by taking on more responsibilities.

In the beginning, the Cork operation dovetailed closely with the Canadian headquarters which had been operating 24 hours a day. Over time, the Irish team took on more responsibility, reducing the burden on the Canadian team. More recently, the Irish operation added a unit that carries out threat intelligence and tactical threat research for clients. It also expanded the support centre team that monitors and manages the IT infrastructure for eSentire’s security services. As international sales grew, eSentire added customer-facing teams, in Cork and throughout Europe.

Maturing into a centre of excellence

The Cork site has become a service delivery centre of excellence and now employs 52 people, which is a significant percentage of the company’s total global workforce. It continues to hire highly skilled cybersecurity personnel. Being able to attract good talent was key to this achievement and the company says Ireland is well set up to help overcome this challenge.