IN ASSOCIATION WITH

 Click to join the fast lane 

Qumas raises USD10m in fresh funds
24-05-2005
by Deirdre McArdle

Cork-based compliance software firm Qumas has announced that it has received USD10 million in funding from a number of venture capital firms in the US.

The investment in the firm, which develops enterprise risk and compliance solutions, was led by US firms Fidelity Ventures and General Catalyst Partners. The company said it would use the funding to expand its sales and marketing operations in the US, as well as enhance its product portfolio and increase its level of customer support.

The firm has high hopes for its development as a result of this cash injection, with Paul Hands, CEO of Qumas saying the firm is now in an "excellent position to take advantage of our experience and technical leadership in the compliance solutions marketplace."

"Regulatory and operational compliance is a major issue for the financial services and pharmaceutical industries and it is not going away. This capital will fuel the expansion of our business and enable us to help more companies turn compliance requirements into business efficiencies and achieve compliance across the board," Hands added.

Qumas has been busy of late; just last month it announced that it had expanded its US office in New Jersey as a result of increasing demand for its products. The expanded office will house 20 employees and be used for sales, professional services, administration, and customer support and training. In early May, Qumas launched its QCompliance Suite for the financial services industry.

The issue of compliance has increasingly become a vital one for businesses, in particular those based in the financial services industry who are required to abide by regulations such as Sarbanes-Oxley, Basel II and European Financial Service Action Plan. With companies becoming more and more concerned with compliance issues the market for IT solutions that help companies to comply is growing rapidly.

Recent statistics from research firm IDC indicate that the worldwide information management for the regulatory compliance market will pass the USD20 billion mark in 2009 and grow at a 22 percent compound annual growth rate through the 2005 to 2009 forecast period.

Qumas' global headquarters are located in Cork and the company has its US headquarters in New Jersey, as well as satellite offices throughout the US and Europe.