Qualcom has announced it is expanding its Northern Ireland operation after growing regional revenues by 30 per cent, creating five new Belfast positions and targeting a further 15 per cent revenue increase by the end of 2026. It matters because it shows retail operators paying for on-the-ground IT resilience as a distinct budget line, rather than treating cybersecurity and connectivity as a background cost of running payment systems.

Qualcom is an Irish IT and cybersecurity provider with a Northern Ireland operation led by managing director Leeann Saunders, serving retail and other large businesses with connectivity, cybersecurity and technical support services.

The five new roles, covering on-site and field-based engineering, will bring Qualcom's Northern Ireland workforce to 21, with growth attributed largely to retailers investing in digital payment systems and more connected customer services.

Qualcom said retailers are increasingly relying on integrated technology for card and app payments, loyalty programmes and online ordering across multiple locations, systems that require reliable connectivity, regular software updates and robust cybersecurity to protect customer and financial data.

Qualcom's staff-as-a-service model, providing flexible technical support without requiring businesses to carry dedicated in-house IT resources, is becoming increasingly attractive to companies managing challenges such as holiday and sickness cover, according to the company.

Qualcom is also helping retailers and other large businesses navigate post-Brexit customs and excise requirements by managing the logistics involved in sourcing and delivering IT devices and hardware.

Leeann Saunders said: "As the retail landscape continues to rapidly evolve, there is a growing demand for resilient IT infrastructure that can support secure and streamlined customer experiences, regardless of how they may choose to shop."

She added: "Reputation is key in retail and it's vital that sensitive customer information remains protected as cyber threats grow. This will not only strengthen public perception but ensure that operations can continue uninterrupted."

For the sector, Qualcom's growth signals that IT resilience and cybersecurity support are shifting from a compliance cost to a board-level priority, as retailers weigh reputational risk from data breaches against the price of outsourced technical capacity.

Source: Belfast News Letter