Enterprise Ireland, the Irish government agency for the promotion of international trade by Irish companies, announced the opening of a new Chicago operations center by client company Netwatch. The new office will be based on North Michigan Avenue, Chicago, and will employ five people with plans to grow to 15 employees over the next 18 months.

Netwatch Systems proactively protect properties using live audio warnings to ward off intruders. Intervention Specialists direct operations remotely from the Netwatch Communication Hub, visually verifying the intruders, intervening by verbally alerting the intruders they are being watched, and notifying the authorities.

Netwatch was the first company in Europe to combine specialist video processing technologies with satellite communications to provide preventative, immediate and cost effective protection solutions, the company described. The company developed an in-house R&D department based on video processing technology, and introduced its own proprietary Netwatch Core software, which is specifically designed to filter out nuisance alarms in order to provide a rapid response to real security breaches.

“Since we launched in the U.S. in 2012, we have seen a steady increase in demand for innovative, high-quality security system solutions,” said David Walsh, CEO of Netwatch. “We remain extremely confident and excited about our future in North America and believe that we are now well placed to support future growth in this increasingly important market. We are especially thankful for the advice and support we have received from Enterprise Ireland in helping us establish ourselves here in Chicago.”

Since 2003, Netwatch reported it has prevented more than 40,000 crimes and currently monitors more than 42,000 cameras across the globe. Netwatch now employs more than 190 staff members and operates in four continents with clients across Europe, South Africa, the Middle East and the U.S.