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By Cara Garretson
With Dell’s announcement
earlier this week of its intention to acquire information security services
provider SecureWorks, the IT vendor is looking to expand its services offerings
as well as bolster its security expertise.
SecureWorks, founded in
1999 and based in Atlanta, provides managed security services, security and
risk consulting services, and threat intelligence to a range of customers both
large and small in diverse industries, including financial services, utilities,
healthcare, retail and manufacturing, according to Dell officials. SecureWorks
has developed a threat management platform and operates a research team called
the Counter Threat Unit to protect customers from threats to their corporate
networks and data; the company says it processes more than 13 billion security
events and sees more than 30,000 examples of malware each day.
“The frequency and
sophistication of attacks on technology infrastructure and malicious attempts
to access data, requires reliable, capable and innovative information
security,” said Peter Altabef, president of Dell Services, in a prepared
statement. “SecureWorks is a recognized industry leader in information security
services and its offerings and expertise will immediately enhance our solutions
portfolio. We look forward to welcoming SecureWorks team members – who bring
their passion and dedication to serving clients with best-in-class security
services – to Dell and our clients.”
Dell expects the
acquisition to help the company expand its current IT-as-a-Service offerings more
deeply into the managed security services space. This acquisition was the
latest in a string made by the vendor with an eye towards bolstering its
services offerings, including the purchase of Perot Systems in 2009.
One industry watcher
likens Dell’s acquisition of SecureWorks, a company that lists more than 1,500
banks and credit unions as managed security services clients, to Dell’s
purchase of Perot that gave the vendor a path into large healthcare accounts.
In both cases, Dell looks to leverage the acquired company to gain a stronger
foothold in very large markets, writes Charles King, principal analyst with
Pund-IT, in his weekly newsletter.
“Though it is nowhere near
the size of Perot, [SecureWorks] is a profitable entity with a solid position
in another potentially lucrative market—ensuring the security of banks and
financial services players,” King writes. “The everincreasing sophistication
and aggression of hackers and others intent on perpetuating financial scams
makes this a very hot market indeed and, similar to Perot’s position in healthcare
services, SecureWorks product and client portfolios place Dell at its
epicenter.”
SecureWorks should also
help Dell position itself as a managed security services provider, King added.
“Overall, we consider this deal a solid win for the companies involved, as well
as their customers and partners.”
Financial details of the
acquisition, announced on Tuesday by Dell and expected to close within the next
forty days, were not disclosed. SecureWorks says it has more than 2,900 clients
around the world, including more than 15 percent of the Fortune 500 companies.
The company has been using Dell products to deliver its security services,
which include intrusion protection systems, vulnerability scanning, and log
management, since 2005, according to Dell officials.
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