IOCS opens first North American software dev centre in Montréal

IOCS – a global developer of multi-tenant, end-to-end e-commerce platform for the processing of complex agreements – has chosen Montréal to establish its first software development centre in North America.

With the support of Montréal International, IOCS, which is growing at an annual rate of 100%, will pursue its ambitious expansion strategy using Québec’s metropolis as a springboard. The company plans to create a team of over 115 highly skilled employees in Montréal within the next three years.

Since its inception, IOCS’ business focus has been predominantly centred on the UK market. With the creation of its new software development facility in Montréal, the company will increasingly expand into new markets, such as North America.

“As a business we are experiencing hyper-growth and we have chosen to invest in building our global technical team in Greater Montréal. We chose Québec’s metropolis for the depth of its talent pool, its cost effectiveness, the ease of doing business, its culture and the advantages of the time zone. As a city, Montréal fits perfectly with our company’s outlook – vibrant, doing things differently and a great place to be,” says Abe Smith, CEO of IOCS. “I am delighted to take this opportunity to announce that IOCS will be re-branding to become Dealflo in the coming weeks, as part of our growth strategy. The Dealflo name better represents our line of business and how we support our clients: providing a unique technology solution that allows financial deals to be executed efficiently and effectively,” Smith adds.

“IOCS’s decision to invest in our metropolis reinforces and confirms Montréal’s position as a creative and welcoming business city for European investors, and especially for high-tech companies. The Information and Communications Technology (ICT) sector is a key pillar of our region’s economy and its success is based on a strong pool of creative talent with high technical skills and a dynamic ecosystem of world-class universities, R&D centres and businesses,” says the Honourable Denis Coderre, Mayor of Montréal and president of the Montréal Metropolitan Community. “What’s more, the arrival of IOCS in Montréal will enhance our city’s reputation in the FinTech industry, while helping strengthen our business ties with the UK, the world’s fifth largest economy. We are very pleased to welcome them to our city,” he added.

Foreign subsidiaries based in Greater Montréal play a key role in the region’s economy. According to Statistics Canada, foreign-owned businesses in Canada are more productive, pay higher wages and operate more R&D centres than Canadian-owned businesses. In 2015, out of the $1 billion of foreign direct investments (FDI) that Montréal International contributed to attract into Greater Montréal, 51.5% were in the ICT sector.

Montréal International, Greater Montréal’s investment promotion agency, has provided strategic support to IOCS for their expansion project. “IOCS’s unique expertise and cutting-edge technology will bring great value to our metropolitan region and help bolster our competitiveness. They can count on our team of seasoned economic development professionals to continue to provide support in the next steps of IOCS’ growth strategy,” explains Hubert Bolduc, president and CEO of Montréal International. ”