Guidewire Software, Inc. (NYSE: GWRE), today announced that it has established a consulting center in Dublin, Ireland. Guidewire already has a team of approximately 25 employees in place and additional hiring is underway. The Guidewire Services Center (GSC) is located in Blanchardstown Corporate Park. The Irish Government through IDA Ireland worked closely with Guidewire to attract this investment to Ireland.
Guidewire Software was established in California in 2001 to provide core system software for the general insurance industry. Guidewire InsuranceSuite™ provides a complete set of applications to support insurers’ core operations: underwriting, policy administration, billing, and claims management. InsuranceSuite enables insurers to deliver improved products and services faster to their customers, to improve underwriting discipline, and to lower operating costs. Guidewire offers an innovative and fun working environment and is looking for enthusiastic, creative, and skilled developers to help its professional services teams implement InsuranceSuite projects around the world.
To date, Guidewire has been selected by more than 100 insurers globally, including more than a dozen customers in Europe. Guidewire customers include insurers of all sizes and writing all lines of business. Customers include: Amica, Aviva, Beazley, CNA, GEICO, Guild, Intact Financial, LV=, Mitsui, Nationwide, QBE, The Co-operators, Pohjola, Rosgosstrakh, Suncorp, Tokio Marine & Nichido Fire and Zurich. The Guidewire Services Center (GSC) demonstrates Guidewire’s growth in Europe and commitment to customer success globally.
The Ireland center was established to help meet a growing global customer demand for expertise in implementing Guidewire’s products. The Center provides resources in Ireland to contribute to highly collaborative Agile projects which are led from customer locations around the world. The focus of the GSC is to augment on-site teams that are implementing Guidewire products to replace mission critical insurance applications. Welcoming the announcement Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation Richard Bruton TD said:
“This is a very welcome announcement for Blanchardstown and Ireland. Guidewire is a dynamic and fast-growing software company, and today’s announcement that it is locating a consulting center in Dublin with the creation of additional jobs is good news. Through continued implementation of the Action Plan for Jobs, I am determined to ensure that we can continue to attract dynamic multinational companies to Ireland and help create the jobs we need.”
Customers can limit peak hiring during implementations by engaging GSC consultants to configure Guidewire products to meet their specific business needs. These off-site consulting teams receive the same high caliber training that Guidewire on-site consultants receive. GSC consultants are dedicated to individual projects and leverage Guidewire’s Agile project approach and Guidewire implementation tools for success. This consistency facilitates collaboration and transparency. The net result is a high quality implementation option that maintains Guidewire’s commitment to customer success.
The GSC concept combined with the Guidewire on-site model and the company’s global alliance program gives customers a myriad of implementation options – each designed to help them achieve project success.
“We were attracted to the strength of Ireland’s software sector, the ease of doing business in the country and by its talented and highly skilled workforce,” said Alex Naddaff, vice president, Professional Services, Guidewire. “IDA Ireland has been a key partner in making the decision to locate in Ireland the right one for Guidewire in order to manage our growth while providing the highest levels of service to our customers.”
Barry O’Leary, CEO of IDA Ireland said, “Ireland’s reputation as a leading location for global software companies is further embedded by Guidewire’s decision to locate this operation here. Companies in the ICT sector continue to take advantage of Ireland’s competitive opportunities and knowledge-based economy and today’s announcement follows on from a number of significant announcements in recent months from companies in this sector. I would like to offer the continued support of IDA Ireland to Guidewire and wish them every success with this venture.’’