BlueVoyant chooses Leeds for Security Operations Centre and Customer Experience Centre

BlueVoyant has opened its new Security Operations Centre (SOC) and Experience Centre in Leeds. The new centre is part of BlueVoyant’s multi-million-pound investment in the UK since 2017. The opening highlights the company’s continued investment and expansion in the UK with local revenue growing 283% since 2017.

The new office, in the heart of Leeds city centre, highlights the evolution of security operations. No longer is it sufficient to have a traditional SOC with legacy technology and manual processes. Instead, clients are looking for next-generation managed security that takes a full-spectrum look at their attack surfaces and uses Machine Learning (ML) to quickly find and mitigate the most critical threats.

The SOC will be used to monitor clients’ networks and digital ecosystems and mitigate threats. The Customer Experience Centre will also offer the opportunity for BlueVoyant clients, business partners, and local organisations to learn about the latest cyber security threats and best response tactics, including how to incorporate ML. In addition, with new regulations being enforced in both the UK and European Union, BlueVoyant will use the new facility to educate clients on how to achieve compliance.

“Improving the cyber defence posture of organisations in the UK and across EMEA with advanced technology and threat intelligence remains a priority for BlueVoyant,” said James Rosenthal, BlueVoyant’s CEO and co-founder. “Our new SOC and Customer Experience Centre shows our commitment to and investment in the UK, and builds on our rapid growth and expansion in the region.”

The official opening took place on 23 April with the Lord Mayor of Leeds, Councillor Al Garthwaite at the event, cutting the ribbon. In addition to BlueVoyant executives, representatives from financial services firm Beeks Group, specialist professional services and technology business, Davies, and other leaders from the finance, insurance, and professional service industries were in attendance. With BlueVoyant being an award-winning Microsoft Security partner, Microsoft Security executives attended the opening.

Leeds has been named the fastest growing digital economy by Lloyds Bank, as well as a number of trade and local publications, which inspired BlueVoyant to choose the city for its new SOC and Experience Centre. The company is hiring from the diverse local tech talent, with nearly 20 roles to be filled in the first instance.

“BlueVoyant is excited to add its name to the list of tech companies in Northern England that are pushing the boundaries of innovation,” said Robert Hannigan, BlueVoyant’s head of international business and former director of GCHQ. “The UK remains a strategic priority for BlueVoyant. Our advanced ML brings clients across EMEA full-spectrum cyber defence to help solve their cyber security challenges.”

BlueVoyant has supported clients in the UK since the company’s inception in 2017. In 2021, BlueVoyant acquired Marclay, a UK-based cyber security consultancy that provided world-class incident response and cyber investigation services for global organisations.

The company’s cutting-edge technology has garnered industry recognition, including from Microsoft which named BlueVoyant the MISA Security MSSP (Managed Security Service Provider) of the Year in the Microsoft Security Excellence Awards 2023. BlueVoyant is also the 2023 and 2022 Microsoft U.S. Security Partner of the Year, the 2022 U.S. Defence and Intelligence Partner of the Year, and is a member of the Microsoft Copilot for Security Design Council.

With the opening of its new centre, BlueVoyant joins Bruntwood SciTech’s innovative technology ecosystem in Leeds, as well as Bruntwood SciTech’s UK-wide science, tech, and innovation community of 1,100 like-minded businesses to build new connections and access collaboration opportunities.

“As ambitious leaders in cyber security, BlueVoyant will form an integral part of our innovation ecosystem in Leeds and have access to our specialist business support,” said Katrina Jones, associate director at Bruntwood SciTech - a partnership between property company Bruntwood, Legal & General, and the Greater Manchester Pension Fund. “As a pioneering international business with a strong reputation for its defence platform, BlueVoyant’s arrival in the city contributes significantly to a growing understanding that Leeds, and the wider Yorkshire region, is becoming an increasingly important hub nationally for tech businesses.”

CBRE’s Leeds Occupier Services team acted for BlueVoyant and associate director Charles Parkinson said: “To have secured this global inward investment into central Leeds is great news for the city and demonstrates that we have the right demographics and offices here to attract growing organisations from overseas seeking to expand in the UK.”