Origina to create 60 jobs in Dublin
07-05-2008
by Bryan Collins

Origina, an IT services and consulting company, is to invest over EUR3 million and create 60 new jobs in the next two years.

The Sandyford-based company, which was formerly known as Unitech Systems, is using the money to provide consulting, IT and managed services to companies and government bodies across Europe from its operation in Dublin.

Origina has spent the last year recruiting its new management team. It is now focusing on hiring technical staff and IT consultants for the expansion. The majority of these staff will be based in Dublin and will bring the total number employed by the company to 120.

"In any business you need to have a strong foundation. We have built that foundation over the last 12 months. Over the next 12 months our plan is to roll-out the actual people that we need to deliver the business. Now we are looking to ramp up," Tomas O'Leary, Managing Director, Origina explained to ENN.

The company was originally established in 1998 to manage the data storage requirements of large Irish companies. Origina adopted its new business name so its Irish and UK offices can compete across Europe under one brand name. The company intends to invest EUR100,000 building this brand.

Origina's current customers include the Department of Education and Science; the Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform; Friends First; AIB; and Eagle Star. It has partnerships with providers like IBM, VMware, and Red Hat, and has recently signed a new partnership with Compellent, a network storage solutions company, to support its offering across Europe.

"There is a great opportunity for Ireland to become a hub for IT managed services and consulting for companies across Europe. Many companies want an alternative to the traditional large consulting houses and we believe there is a significant niche in the market in which we can compete across Europe," said O'Leary.

At the 2008 ICT Excellence Awards, Origina won the prize for IT Project of the Year (Public Sector) for its work with the Department of Education and Science. Origina worked with the department to build a large pay-roll and pension database for teachers around the country.

"In life we all like rewards and awards and it's nice to get recognition. In times when the budget is a little bit tighter to be able to demonstrate that you are able to deliver more functionality to a department...to be able to do that without having to spend a disproportionate amount of money on it, is a very clever way of doing business. That is our philosophy here...to drive down the cost of IT," O'Leary said.