October 06, 2016

Two leading providers of managed security services, Netsurion for multi-location, highly distributed networks, and EventTracker for comprehensive security information and event management (SIEM) solutions, announced today that they have agreed to merge. This transaction creates a combined company that will offer a broader suite of complementary and powerful cybersecurity solutions to its customers.

Under the terms of the agreement, Providence Strategic Growth (PSG), the growth equity affiliate of Providence Equity Partners and majority shareholder of Netsurion, has made a significant equity investment to accelerate the growth of the combined company. Netsurion and EventTracker will continue to operate as distinct brands and deliver their products and services in the same manners they have historically. Kevin Watson, CEO of Netsurion, will serve as CEO of the parent organization, and A.N. Ananth, CEO of EventTracker, will continue in his current role.

“Our two businesses complement each other in many ways,” said Watson. “As a combined firm, we are better positioned to serve our customers as the sophistication of network breaches increases. Over the past year, we have seen more network intrusions take place that require the type of security SIEM brings. Unfortunately, many small and multi-location businesses cannot afford and do not have the knowledge to manage such complex systems. Providing a managed network security service coupled with a managed SIEM product will enable us to best protect our clients from current and emerging threats.”

EventTracker is a leader in the SIEM space and is unique as the only provider that also operates its own in-house managed SIEM offering. Netsurion’s managed security services protect multi-location businesses’ information, payment systems, and on-premise public and private Wi-Fi networks from data breaches, data loss, and other risks posed by hackers.

“Netsurion and EventTracker are strongly positioned in the managed services technology sector,” said Matthew Stone, vice president at PSG and Netsurion board member. “With a combined solutions portfolio and continued investment, they can advance their disruptive approach to cybersecurity together to seize the significant growth opportunities driven by the realities of modern cyberthreats.”

The two companies are poised to increase their performance in the managed security services market, estimated to grow at 14.8 percent CAGR to $35 billion by 2020.1

“Over the past nine years, we have consistently been recognized as a technology leader and market innovator in the SIEM sector,” said Ananth. “In addition to the revenue and marketing advantages, the investment by Providence will help us to accelerate our growth and the development of our product roadmap to the benefit of both Netsurion’s and EventTracker’s customers.”

Combining EventTracker’s cloud-based SIEM capabilities with Netsurion’s expertise in managed security services will enable SIEM to be delivered to a class of businesses that previously was unable to afford and manage such sophisticated security measures.

Now any sized branch or remote office, franchise, or sole proprietor operation can use Netsurion’s managed network security service or EventTracker’s SIEM services without the costs and complexity of fulltime dedicated resources. The two companies serve the retail, hospitality, healthcare, legal, and insurance sectors.

Fueling the growth are the facts that cybercrime has grown to epidemic proportions and that the impact of data breaches on multi-location brands, individual franchisees and other small businesses can be devastating and unrecoverable.

The National Small Business Association stated that 42 percent of small businesses reported they were the victim of a cyberattack last year, with losses averaging $32,000 for firms whose bank accounts were hacked. And the FBI warned that cyber crooks steal small business information to do things like rob bank accounts via wire transfers, steal customers’ personal identity information, file for fraudulent tax refunds, commit health insurance or Medicare fraud, or even steal intellectual property.

EventTracker has offices in Columbia, Maryland and Bangalore, India, and Netsurion is headquartered in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, with offices in Houston and St. Louis.

For more information, visit www.netsurion.com.

Tweet this: #Managedsecurity services leaders @Netsurion and announce #merger agreement https://goo.gl/D4D10q

About Providence Equity Partners
Providence is a premier, global asset management firm with $47 billion in assets under management across complementary private equity and credit businesses. Providence pioneered a sector focused approach to private equity investing with the vision that a dedicated team of industry experts could build exceptional companies of enduring value. Since the firm’s inception in 1989, Providence has invested in more than 150 companies and is the leading equity investment firm focused on the media, communications, education, and information industries. Providence is headquartered in Providence, RI and also has offices in New York, London, Hong Kong, Singapore, and New Delhi. For more information on Providence Equity, please visit www.provequity.com.

Providence Equity
Patrick Scanlan
Sard Verbinnen & Co
(212) 687-8080

1 “Managed Security Services Market Worth 35.53 Billion USD by 2020,” Markets and Markets, company press release, http://www.marketsandmarkets.com/PressReleases/managed-security-services.asp.

About Netsurion
Netsurion® delivers an adaptive managed security solution that integrates our XDR platform with your existing security investments and technology stack, easily scaling to fit your business needs. Netsurion’s managed offering includes our 24×7 SOC that operates as your trusted cybersecurity partner, working closely with your IT team to strengthen your cybersecurity posture. Our solution delivers Managed Threat Protection so you can confidently focus on your core business.

Headquartered in Ft. Lauderdale, FL with a global team of security analysts and engineers, Netsurion is a leader in Managed Extended Detection & Response (MXDR). Learn more at netsurion.com.

Media Contact
Sherlyn Rijos
Montner Tech PR
[email protected]