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24 jobs and €2.9m investment announced by Spearline at official opening of Waterford office

President Willie Donnelly officially opens new Spearline office in Waterford

Today, Professor Willie Donnelly, President of Waterford Institute of Technology (WIT), officially opened Spearline’s Waterford office in ArcLabs Research & Innovation Centre, Co Waterford.  At the opening, the tech company announced 24 new jobs and the expansion represents an investment of €2.9m over two years.  

The event was moderated by Kevin Buckley, Co-Founder and CEO at Spearline who said: “We believe in staying true to our roots by creating employment in our localities.  On August 9, we officially opened our new headquarters in Skibbereen in a building where I was once a pupil. We are here today in a building owned by WIT, the alma mater of many Spearliners.  After today’s recruitment afternoon, we hope to add to that number and plan to continue to do so into the future. It fills us with pride to be here today in Waterford as we continue to expand Spearline.”

Speaking at the official opening, Cllr John Pratt, Mayor of the City and County of Waterford said: “Spearline's story is one that we can be particularly proud of here in Waterford.  As the capital of the South East with a centre of excellence in education in Waterford Institute of Technology, it is an incredible achievement for the opening of their new global sales office here in Waterford.  A story that started with a rented desk in Arc Labs, and now having dedicated campuses across four locations. I want to congratulate Liam Dunne, his leadership and entrepreneurial talent in developing a service that will add to the quality control of an industry that already supports a large number of jobs here in Waterford, while adding their own quality jobs on top of that.  This positions Waterford as a global focal-point in telecommunication support and sales.”

Speaking at the event, John Halligan TD, Minister of State for Training, Skills, Innovation, Research and Development said: “I very much welcome the opening of Spearline‘s global sales office in ArcLabs, Waterford Institute of Technology and the announcement of the 24 new jobs today.  The success of Spearline is testament to what can be achieved with resilience and an ability to adapt, persevere and innovate. The Government’s Future Jobs Initiative commits to ‘Embracing Innovation and Technological Changes’ and I would like to reassure the companies here today that the Government is focussed on doing everything within its power to support companies to be more resilient and innovative.  I wish Spearline well in its endeavours and look forward to seeing the impact this new office has on the economy of the region.”

Announcing Spearline’s investment and job creation in Waterford, Liam Dunne, Chief Commercial Officer (CCO) at Spearline said: “Today, I am delighted to announce that we are expanding our team here in Waterford by 24 new team members.  Spearline has grown by over 600% in the past four years and we plan to continue investing in the local economy by creating employment into the future. I am one of 11 WIT graduates on the Spearline team; we have six Commercial Software Development graduates, including Co-Founders Kevin Buckley, CEO and Matthew Lawlor, CTO.  I am honoured to represent Spearline in Waterford and to have the opportunity to grow our base - both in terms of international customers and team members.”

Officially opening the Spearline office in Waterford, Professor Willie Donnelly, President at Waterford Institute of Technology (WIT) said: “The institute is delighted Spearline has chosen to open its global sales office in ArcLabs Research and Innovation centre on the West Campus.  Spearline was founded by WIT graduates who have rapidly grown the company on the international stage. We wish them the best of luck in their future development and look forward to extending our partnership.”

Martin Corkery, Regional Director, South & South East Regions, Enterprise Ireland said: “ArcLabs’ Waterford base has proven to be a centre that is driving real success among entrepreneurs in the South East.  Through our partnership with Waterford Institute of Technology, Enterprise Ireland has made a number of key investments over recent years to ensure that the ArcLabs centre would have the very best facilities.  It is fantastic to see it now being fully utilised by businesses in the region which continues to go from strength to strength. I am especially pleased to see Spearline open an office here today and become part of the ArcLabs community.  In August, Spearline unveiled its headquarters in Cork and now it’s collaboration with ArcLabs in Waterford will no doubt help forge even more regional jobs and development. I look forward to continuing our relationship with the company as it embarks on the next stage of its expansion and to supporting ArcLabs as more and more businesses come on board.”

Dr Aisling O’Neill, Manager at ArcLabs Research & Innovation Centre said: “It is our absolute pleasure to be here today for the official opening of the Spearline Global Sales Office in ArcLabs.  ArcLabs is the perfect site for Spearline's expansion, given the strong links to Waterford Institute of Technology (WIT) with 11 WIT graduates on the team, including the Co-Founders. Liam Dunne, CCO at Spearline took a single desk in ArcLabs in 2016 so it's such an exciting development to see the expansion that the company has undergone and that ArcLabs will now be home to the global sales office.  Since joining us in May 2019, the team in Spearline has been incredibly active in the ArcLabs community and we're so delighted that they have chosen ArcLabs to support their global ambition. We wish them continued success.”

Spearline is a technology company that proactively monitors phone numbers for audio quality and connectivity globally.  It is headquartered in Skibbereen, Co Cork and has offices in Waterford, Romania and India. The Spearline platform enables enterprises and telecommunications service providers to test connectivity and quality on global telecoms networks, testing automatically at volume.  Spearline has conducted millions of test calls worldwide, resulting in billions of data-points. It has global network coverage and operates a 24 hours per day, 365 days per year support service for its international customers.  

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For further information and / or to arrange interviews, contact Orla Clancy at orla.clancy@spearline.com / +353(0)87 938 8882. 

Event photographs will be issued to your picture desk by Browne Photography: E: brownesphotography@me.com / Ph.: 051-421763. 

Further Information

Spearline - Key Dates

Spearline is a technology company that proactively monitors phone numbers for audio quality and connectivity globally.

Spearline supports business sectors, such as contact centres, conferencing services and other applications, in successfully connecting with their customers.

Spearline is headquartered in Skibbereen, Co Cork and has offices in Waterford, Romania and India.

2003: The company was founded by college friends and WIT Commercial Software Development graduates Kevin Buckley, CEO and Matthew Lawlor, CTO.

2009: Spearline developed the first automated number test and partnered with global conferencing company PGi. It had servers in 15 countries worldwide.

2013: Spearline launched on-demand tests as a SaaS with servers in 35 countries worldwide. (This was a turning point in the Spearline story as we know it today.)

2014: Spearline secured its first major multinational enterprise customer. It introduced customer service 24/7 teams and servers in 42 countries worldwide. Within a year, Spearline announced major jobs growth with a doubling of its workforce. 

2016: Spearline introduced a new development team in Romania, a new testing platform, and mobile offering online. It had servers in 60 countries worldwide.

2019: Spearline continues to grow rapidly. Its headquarters is in Skibbereen and it has offices in Waterford, Romania and India. Spearline has a growing global network coverage and provides a 24 hours per day, 365 days per year support service to customers.

August 9, 2019: Spearline officially opened its new headquarters in Skibbereen, Co Cork and announced 75 new jobs across 10 departments.

October 15, 2019: Spearline officially opens its global sales office in Waterford, which is headed up by Liam Dunne, Chief Commercial Officer (CCO) at Spearline.  Liam is also a Commercial Software Development graduate from W.I.T.

Spearline and the Waterford connection

In 2016, Liam Dunne rented a single desk space in ArcLabs in Waterford.  

Due to expansion, Spearline moved into its new office in May 2019.  

Spearline has 11 WIT graduates on its team; 6 Commercial Software Development graduates, including Co-Founders, Kevin Buckley, CEO and Matthew Lawlor, CTO.

About Spearline

What we do:

  • Spearline independently monitors toll-free and toll numbers. 
  • We monitor audio quality and connectivity globally.
  • We help contact centres, conferencing services and other applications. 
  • With the Spearline SaaS solution, our enterprise, unified communications and telecoms customers can test global audio quality and connectivity.

 

How we do it:

  • The tests are carried out through the cloud-based Spearline platform and a worldwide network of servers and carriers.

 

Benefits to customers:

  • There’s no need for hardware installation; customers only need to provide us with a number.
  • Organizations can identify in real time if contact numbers are failing to connect or experiencing audio quality issues.
  • We replicate customer experience in each country. Organizations can review your telecom infrastructure performance from the outside in (otherwise they have to rely on people in the country to dial the number).
  • We have a proactive testing model - an issue is identified before it becomes a problem for organizations and their telecoms carriers.
  • Organizations can test multiple numbers per day and in different countries. 
  • We communicate trends to customers so that they can react before it becomes a widespread problem. It also allows them to review carrier SLAs and choose optimum carriers.
  • We provide you with human verified alerts and a dedicated 24 hours per day, 365 days per year support team.

 

For further information, visit:  

www.spearline.com

www.spearline.com/team

Twitter: https://twitter.com/Spearline_ 

LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/spearline 

Facebook: www.facebook.com/spearlinegroup 

Instagram: www.instagram.com/SpearlineHQ