Canadian technology firm eSentire is to base its European headquarters and security operations centre in Cork, creating almost 100 jobs over the next five years.

The firm, which specialises in continuous advanced threat protection cybersecurity and managed security services, has more than tripled in size in the past three years. The security operations centre uses analysts to continuously identify threats around the clock.

Company CTO Mark McArdle said a number of locations had been considered.

“We evaluated several locations within Europe to expand our business and establish an EU base to better serve our clients on both sides of the ocean,” he said. “We were extremely impressed with the technical talent in Cork and the ecosystem the government has helped to develop to fill the skills gap, specifically in the demanding and competitive field of cybersecurity.”

The news was welcomed by Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation Richard Bruton, who said it was an important boost.

IDA Ireland's chief executive Martin Shanahan said it offered a great opportunity for software engineering graduates to join a rapidly expanding IT security business.