The Walton Institute formerly the Telecommunications Software & Systems Group (TSSG) is a large Irish information and communications technologies (ICT) research institute in Waterford Institute of Technology. It is based in the WIT West Campus, having brought in the funding for the two research buildings located there: ArcLabs Research and Innovation Centre (opened 2005), combining the TSSG with incubation and innovation space, formally opened by the Taoiseach in October 2006 (note that this combined Enterprise Ireland and Higher Education Authority funding), and NetLabs (opened 2011, used Higher Education Authority funding), formally opened by Minister of Education in March 2014. The TSSG was established in 1996 by Willie Donnelly and Eamonn de Leastar. They were joined later by Mícheál Ó Foghlú and Barry Downes to form the executive team. Thus Willie, Eamonn, Mícheál and Barry are co-founders of the TSSG. Initially the group was focused on applied research funded by a series of EU Framework Programmes for Research and Technological Development projects. The first project was DIFFERENCE. The TSSG has retained this emphasis on EU funding, engaging in large number of projects in FP5, FP6 and FP7, the most recent large EU project led by the TSSG is SOCIETIES. The group built on this foundation to address basic research, funded by Higher Education Authority PRTLI programme projects M-Zones and FutureComm (Serving Society), and by a series of Science Foundation Ireland projects including FAME. In parallel, the TSSG strengthened its focus on industry, particularly through commercialisation activity funded by Enterprise Ireland (e.g. IMS-ARCS). As well as licensing technology to existing companies the TSSG has been actively engaged in the creation or attraction of over 17 start-up companies (spin-in and spin-outs) from 2000-2017, such as FeedHenry and Zolk C creating over 100 additional jobs directly in the region. The TSSG has grown in size since it was established employed over 100 staff and students from 2004 onwards, funded by an active portfolio of between 30 and 40 research projects at any one time. In its history, it has brought in €65 million of funding from over 160 individual projects. The TSSG is actively engaged in standards groups in general, and has been a member of the W3C and the Telemanagement Forum, and is helping to steer the Future Internet agenda in Europe as a partner and member of a number of European Technology Platforms (Net!Works, NEM, NESSI) and strategic groups of Industry collaborators