The Software Alliance has welcomed its 60th member as software supply chain management company Cloudsmith joins its ranks.
Founded in 2016, Belfast-headquartered Cloudsmith was launched to meet surging industry demand for secure and reliable artifact management, by offering a 100% cloud-native software supply chain management platform.
In 2021, it received $15 million in Series A funding, the largest funding round for a Northern Ireland-based business since 2005 and last week announced £8.8 million in Series A2 financing to scale its operations and serve its global client base.
Cloudsmith now joins the Software Alliance seven months since the association’s official launch as the voice of Northern Ireland’s £1.7 billion software industry, one which includes 2,200 companies and employs around 23,000 people.
Cloudsmith CEO Glenn Weinstein, a seasoned start-up executive, said: “Belfast is such a dynamic location with a thriving digital economy, strong R&D capability, and a talented workforce. We are proudly born and bred in Northern Ireland and service clients globally, so we look forward to learning from the diversity of expertise that all the Software Alliance members bring.
“With October’s US trade delegation led by Joe Kennedy III, Special Envoy to Northern Ireland for Economic Affairs, the continued and significant global investment interest shown in Northern Ireland’s digital economy and thriving software and cybersecurity sector has once more been in the spotlight.
“At Cloudsmith, we are innovators and problem solvers. We were one of the first to identify software supply chain management as an industry-wide problem and then build a fully cloud-native platform and service to solve this issue. We want to help our customers manage the software security vulnerabilities that can risk reputation damage, data exfiltration and IP theft for companies locally and further afield.
“Our goal is to start a dialogue with developers and our industry peers, so joining the Software Alliance as its 60th member feels like an excellent next step in contributing even more to Northern Ireland’s vibrant software community and wider economy.”
Software Alliance Chief Executive David Crozier commented: “We are delighted to have Cloudsmith join the Software Alliance as our 60th member. Since 2016, it has gone from strength to strength, raising millions in funding and building a global business from its Belfast base.
“At the Software Alliance, we want to do all we can to galvanise NI’s talented software industry, showcase their successes and advocate on their behalf to ensure positive regulatory and policy development. Cloudsmith is an important sector voice and I look forward to welcoming them as they will enhance the alliance’s collaborative strength.”
Representing over 25% of the total software workforce in Northern Ireland, the Software Alliance exists to champion the sector’s interests and support policy development which can capitalise on Northern Ireland’s potential to become the world-leading region for innovative software businesses.
Led by Chief Executive David Crozier, the alliance is an industry-led organisation with responsibility for representing the interests of the sector on issues relating to labour, skills, R&D and securing investment. The strong membership base includes large multinationals like founding members Kainos, Liberty IT and Allstate NI and indigenous businesses creating innovative software in Northern Ireland, such as Instil, GCD Technologies and TextHelp.
