NearForm launches Open Source Software R&D hub in Tramore

NearForm, the premier software development and world-leading Open Source Technology company, headquartered in Tramore Ireland, has officially launched its R&D hub, NearForm Research, to further build on its existing commitment and contributions to the growth in Open Source Software.  The move follows the company’s long-standing active involvement in the creation of advanced Open Source software and its importance to the global enterprise market and associated economic growth.

CEO and co-founder Cian Ó’Maidín is an active advocate of developer contributions for open source sustainability and NearForm already sponsors many of the world’s most popular web and IOT frameworks and performance tools, investing time and resources into developing and giving back to the open source community. They are currently the largest contributor to the fastest growing open source project, Node.js.  The establishment of a dedicated R&D unit further reinforces this commitment.

The starting team of 8 specialist engineers in the newly-formed hub will initially be dedicated to researching & developing major new functionality for Node.js in the areas of performance and security, along with advancements in IOT and Machine Learning. Further out they will be creating revolutionary new runtimes and tools that have the capability to power everything from the smallest devices to the largest P2P networks.

NearForm Research is supported by funding from Enterprise Ireland, in recognition of the collaborative nature of their projects, connecting technology and enterprise development and delivering on the advancement of innovation & skills in the local region.  The funding has enabled NearForm to establish a dedicated team to drive forward the important work in creating a sustainable open source future for economic growth, contributing revolutionary improvements that will benefit enterprise community world-over.

“NearForm is an excellent example of an innovative company with global ambition and Enterprise Ireland is delighted to support its R&D hub ‘NearForm Research’. This is a significant step for the company to execute on its Technology Roadmap and drive future revenue growth. We look forward to working with the company as it grows and expands in international markets,” said Carol Gibbons, Divisional Manager, ICT, Enterprise Ireland.

Commenting on the announcement, James Snell Head of NearForm Research added: “We are thrilled to be able to make this an official program within NearForm.  We can now combine our experience in developing software solutions for some of the world’s leading brands with our in-depth knowledge and understanding of the languages and tools.  We are already working on some significant projects such as HTTP/3, the 3rd major version of the transfer protocol used to exchange information on the internet.

We are also working with our wider ecosystem to build more secure runtimes for the financial services market and to enhance the available diagnostic tools to help developers improve performance of their software code.  Our work will help to speed up some of these advancements in technology and ensure they are enterprise-grade.”

Conor O’Neill, Chief Product Officer at NearForm Research added “These initial foundational building blocks that we are creating will continue to position us as the leaders in defining the next generation of the enterprise web platform. As the definition of the web extends out far beyond browsers and mobile, we are perfectly placed to show how sustainable OSS, open platforms and privacy-first ML are the approaches everyone should be embracing. Having the support of Enterprise Ireland in this first phase of NearForm Research is very important for the company. Enterprise Ireland has always shown strong interest in all of our activities and we look forward to extending the relationship in the coming years.”

About NearForm

NearForm is a global team of designers, delivery architects, devops specialists and engineers founded and headquartered in Tramore, County Waterford, Ireland.  With world-recognised open source DNA, NearForm is helping companies across the world – such as EY, TELUS and Condé Nast – to become modern technology organisations by providing the necessary skills, methodologies and solutions that integrate digital into all areas of a business. From experience design and bespoke software solution development to cloud-native architecture strategy & design, NearForm applies best practices coupled with capability building & knowledge transfer in every project to ensure clients are equipped for repeatable success.

At NearForm Research, the team is dedicated to creating opportunities and outcomes that will shape the future of enterprise innovation through a collaborative and open source approach to research & development in next-generation technologies and more secure runtimes.  NearForm is investing directly into open source software communities, building on years of engagement, where they have authored, contributed to and maintained many of today’s widely-used open source technologies. NearForm Research will continue to create new functionality for Node.js and JavaScript that will become industry standards and will create new revolutionary runtimes and tools that are yet to be imagined.

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