CWSI launches UK apprenticeship programme as part of 1M investment to support UK growth plans

CWSI (@CWSI_IE) invests £1M to support UK growth plans

CWSI, one of Europe’s most experienced mobile and cloud security specialists, is today announcing a new investment of over £1M to support the planned growth of the business in the UK. This investment includes the creation of 25 new roles in the UK and Ireland by the end of 2022.

Headquartered in Dublin, CWSI entered the UK market in 2017 and provides mobility and security solutions to enterprise and government clients both directly and through partnerships with global telecommunications providers including Telefonica, Telstra and Hutchison Whampoa (Three). It consolidated its UK credentials and capabilities with the acquisition in May 2021 of AVR, a cyber and cloud security services provider, based in Berkshire. CWSI was also recently named a Deloitte Best Managed Company for 2021.

Most of the new roles are being created within CWSI’s service delivery and technical consulting teams, and include security consultants, delivery and service desk engineers, project and service assurance managers. Product management and marketing are also highlighted for investment.

The new hires will also include apprentices as CWSI is launching a new UK apprenticeship programme in 2022 to encourage more young people into a career in IT and security. The programme will initially span 14 months with 80% on-the-job training and 20% virtual classroom training.

CWSI has recently become one of a select few Managed Security Service Providers (MSSP) in the UK, and the first in Ireland, to join the Microsoft Intelligent Security Association (MISA). MISA is an ecosystem of independent software vendors and managed security service providers that have integrated their solutions with Microsoft security products to better defend against a world of increasing threats. To meet customer demand, CWSI is extending its solution capability in Endpoint Detection and Response through a new partnership with SentinelOne, a leading cybersecurity platform.

The company has seen great success with its Unified Endpoint Managed Service, which provides a turnkey solution to support IT teams and end users to manage every aspect of the device lifecycle including ordering and delivering, provisioning, in-life support, swaps and replacements and decommissioning. The company also recently achieved Android Enterprise Service Provider accreditation, reflecting its expertise in mobile operating systems and the growing prevalence of Android devices within enterprises.

Earlier this year, CWSI announced the acquisition of AVR. The integration has seen a 100% staff retention rate and a successful cross-sell of services to each customer base, as well as integration across sales, marketing, HR and general technology. CWSI is actively pursuing further acquisitions across the UK and Europe.

In the UK, CWSI provides services to major brands including Volkswagen, Specsavers and Yell. It is also a partner to global telecoms providers including Virgin Media O2 and BT Global Services, for whom it provides a range of white-labelled technology services.

Ronan Murphy, CEO, CWSI:

“On the back of a successful year for CWSI, we are delighted to announce this significant investment into our people, platforms and partnerships. We are particularly pleased to announce the launch of our new apprenticeship programme in the UK, as we have seen how the IT skills gap has negatively impacted the industry, and we plan to play our part in encouraging young people to build a career in IT and security in particular.

“We also look forward to developing our new partnership with SentinelOne, which recently completed the largest ever cybersecurity IPO on the NYSE, as the customer demand for endpoint management and protection grows.

“We are delighted to have been accepted into MISA, an association that is made up of only the most skilled and experienced Microsoft Security Partners. We’re seeing huge demand for our Microsoft Security skills, particularly because we are one of a very select number of partners with such strong security accreditations. When you add in our specialist expertise in mobile operating systems, it means we are optimally positioned for sustained growth.

“The UK is central to our growth plans, and following the successful integration of AVR, is expected to contribute 65% of annualised group revenues this year. Our longer-term vision is to become a pan-European leader in modern security through a combination of organic growth and M&A activity.”