Emerald IsleGrowth trends in software security favor Beyond Encryption
Irish company specializing in developing software for protecting sensitive data stands to benefit from growth trends in the global security software market; most encryption products rely on the user having to remember a password to unlock their data; the approach of Beyond Encryption is to have access controlled by an administrator so that the data is protected wherever it goes
The worldwide security software market is defying the recession and will reach $14.5 billion in 2009, up 8 percent on last year. While growth is slower than the 17 percent growth recorded a year ago, research group Gartner expects the global software market to grow 13 percent in 2010 when revenues will total $16.3 billion. In Europe, the security software market will total €3.2 billion in 2009, representing 7 percent growth from 2008.
In 2009, consumer security will remain the largest segment in terms of total software revenue in the security software market, representing 25 percentc of the total market. Gartner estimates it will account for $3.6 billion, growing 4 percent in 2009. The enterprise security software market formed by a number of segments such as endpoint protection platform, e-mail security boundary, and user provisioning is predicted to account for $10.9 billion, reaching 9 pecent growth in 2009.
All this is good news for Dublin-based Beyond Encryption Technologies, a company specializing in developing software for protecting sensitive data. The company has raised €720,000 in second-round funding from a variety of sources including Enterprise Ireland and private investors. The latest investment round follows the raising of about €300,000 early last year.
“We took a conservative view and we raised enough to get us through six months,” says Stephen McCormack, the chief executive officer of the company. “We are expanding. We are talking to a number of individuals in Dubai and Oman about further investment.”
Beyond Encryption’s current revenues are “modest”, he told Irish Times’s Gordon Smith. The company expects to be profitable within the next twelve months, depending on how quickly it can tie up some deals with some large international defense contractors. “We are starting to see sales come in and it puts us in a very strong position.”
The company has filed several patents for its technology in the United States.
Other encryption products usually rely on the user having to remember a password to unlock their data. The approach of Beyond Encryption is to have access controlled by an administrator so that the data is protected wherever it goes. The company’s core product is available in three formats. The first is a hosted service for protecting up to 100 devices. The second is aimed at organizations with in-house IT staff who can install and manage the software, and the third is a customized service aimed at very large enterprises or industry sectors with specific data protection needs.
“Our technology can go into a company with five employees or 5,000,” McCormack adds.
Beyond Encryption has ten employees and is planning to recruit a further two over the next three months. The company recently added several information security experts to its management and advisory boards. Stephen Northcutt, an internationally renowned author on network design and security, is a company director.
Beyond Encryption’s advisory board now includes Dr. Eric Cole, who has published more than twenty patents in IT security; Mike Poor, a published author and security instructor; and Brian Honan, an Irish information security expert.
