SecureData, a member of the JSE-listed ERP.com Group and the southern African distributor for St Bernard Software, today announced that the latter has signed a definitive agreement to acquire Singlefin, a provider of managed security and business services.
Singlefin delivers on-demand e-mail filtering, Web filtering and instant messaging (IM) management as a hosted or 'in the cloud' service and is focused on the SME customer segment.
The acquisition strategically enhances St Bernard's unique position as the only provider of appliance, software and on-demand delivered security solutions into the SME market.
With compounded annual growth rates of over 26% through 2009, (source: IDC, 2005), the on-demand security services space is ranked by industry analysts as among the fastest growing segments in the security market. Moreover, the acquisition reinforces St Bernard Software's commitment to serving the SME market by significantly enhancing the security solutions the company will offer in secure content management, data security, and business continuity, providing true industry-leading choice to current and future customers.
With the integration of Singlefin's hosted security technology, St Bernard Software is providing SME customers with a unique ability to meet their budgetary and IT needs while allowing them to focus on managing their business. Singlefin has been hosting e-mail and other security services since 2003 and already operates an extensive e-mail filtering service with more than five billion messages analysed daily through its patented reputation filters. Singlefin brings 900 SME customers to St Bernard Software, as well as ISPs such as Juno, NetZero and BlueLight.
"This acquisition comes at a great time for our customers, employees and investors. It is an exciting step in our ongoing commitment to provide a full range of secure content management solutions that meet the specific needs of small and medium-sized enterprise customers," commented Vincent Rossi, President and COO at St Bernard Software. "Our current customers and prospects now have the opportunity to select a security appliance or service model that will efficiently and effectively protect their corporate assets and ensure business continuity."
"Singlefin's secure content services and unique selling model are specifically tailored for the SME market and give customers a painless way to protect their networks," added Jake Jacoby, founder and president of Singlefin. "St Bernard Software has an excellent reputation with small and medium enterprises, and we are excited about the opportunity to extend new and unique value to these customers."
"Security in the cloud is the fastest growing segment in this space, offering affordable pricing and immediate access to security programs without the typical infrastructure requirements," continued Richard Stiennon, chief research analyst for IT-Harvest. "With limited IT resources, the SME is the likeliest sector to quickly benefit from on-demand security delivered as a service. This approach gives customers the flexibility to select the specific enterprise-class solutions they need."
For further information, please contact Willem Barnard at telephone (011) 790 2500; fax (011) 790 2599; e-mail willemb@securedata.co.za.
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St Bernard Software Inc is a global provider of security solutions that help small and medium businesses protect their network infrastructure at the perimeter and system levels. Using a multi-layered security architecture strategy, St Bernard Software's range of solutions harden business-critical systems against threats and exploits; provide policy-based Internet management; protect e-mail messaging; and secure the data backup process to cover files that are open or in use. Deployed across millions of computers worldwide, the company's award-winning products are recognised for ease-of-use, affordability and scalability.
It was established in April 1995, with corporate headquarters in San Diego, California and an international office in London, St Bernard Software sells and supports its products directly and through key solution partners worldwide. For further information, visit St Bernard Software at www.stbernard.com.
SecureData
SecureData, an ERP.com company, is Africa's premier value-added distributor and solution provider of perimeter, network and endpoint information security and risk management solutions. As well as being the sole distributor in Sub-Saharan Africa for Trend Micro, SecureData is the Sub-Saharan African distributor for AirDefense, Application Security, Cibecs, eEye, Network Engines, Precise Biometrics, Rocket Software, RSA Security, St Bernard Software, TippingPoint Technologies and Websense. For more information, visit SecureData at www.securedata.co.za.
ERP.com
ERP.com is a JSE-listed company focused on the implementation, integration and management of enterprise applications in an e-business environment. For more information, visit ERP.com at www.erpcom.co.za
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