IBM creating 250 cybersecurity jobs in New Brunswick over next three years

IBM Canada and New Brunswick premier Brian Gallant have announced plans to create 100 new full-time jobs, with salaries between $50,000 to $75,000 each, in the company’s security division in Fredericton over the next three years.
Shortly after the New Brunswick premier’s announcement, IBM Canada general manager of global technology services David Drury announced that the company would be creating a further 110 jobs in Saint John and an additional 40 in Florenceville-Bristol, creating a hub of IT and security technology expertise in New Brunswick.
“We are fortunate to have international companies such as IBM in New Brunswick,” said Premier Brian Gallant. “IBM is a leader in information technology and in cybersecurity. The expansion of its operations in New Brunswick means more valuable information technology jobs and a strong foundation for the continued growth of the cybersecurity sector in this province.”
Earlier this month, the premier met with IBM and other companies at a cybersecurity conference in San Francisco.
“This economic development investment will create a hub of information technology, security technology expertise and high-value jobs in New Brunswick,” said Dino Trevisani, president of IBM Canada. “Together, we are planting these economic development seeds to help transition New Brunswick into a knowledge-worker economy that can positively tackle huge challenges, such as the monumental growth of cybercrime, for the benefit of all Canadians and organizations worldwide.”
For its part, the provincial government will pay $12,000 per job as a payroll rebate, totaling a $3 million investment.
In 2011, IBM bought Q1 Labs, whose QRadar Security Intelligence Platform was developed in partnership with the University of New Brunswick, which served as a catalyst for IBM to form its security division, today a $2-billion business employing 7,500 researchers, developers and security experts in 36 locations worldwide.
New Brunswick is already home to a natural cybersecurity cluster that dates back 25 years, with the establishment of Canada’s first faculty of computer science in 1989.
IBM’s Security QRadar analyzes data across an organization’s information technology infrastructure to identify potential security threats, acting as support for IBM’s 10 global security centres.
The platform was designed, built, tested and supported primarily in New Brunswick.
Citing the fact that New Brunswick is already home to major IT companies like IBM, which maintains a research and development and customer support centre in Fredericton, as well as initiatives at the University of New Brunswick and CFB Gagetown, the province is quickly developing cybersecurity as a key growth area of its economy.
The Fredericton customer support service centre already provides support for more than 5,000 customers around the globe.