Looking to bolster its data security story, HelpSystems on Wednesday reported that it acquired Digital Guardian, the noted cloud-based provider of data loss prevention software.
HelpSystems said Digital Guardian’s SaaS product will integrate well with its broader portfolio, including GoAnywhere, Clearswift, Agari, and Titus.
Kate Bolseth, chief executive officer of HelpSystems, said along with extending its DLP capability, the acquisition further improves the company’s ability to categorize or classify data and protect it across a wide set of applications and operating systems.
HelpSystems has been on an acquisition spree lately to rapidly expand its cybersecurity portfolio, and Digital Guardian appears to be a “twofer,” combining DLP with a managed detection and response team to expand the company's existing managed security services, said Jack Poller, a senior analyst at the Enterprise Strategy Group.
“With the massive shift to remote work and the maturation of digital transformation initiatives, organizations are finding that their sensitive data is scattered throughout the infrastructure,” said Poller. “Digital Guardian’s cloud- delivered DLP solution is a natural complement to HelpSystems’ existing suite of data classification solutions and will provide completeness to the data protection solution, ensuring that organizations have modern tools to identify, classify, and secure their sensitive data across the environment.”
Frank Dickson, program vice president for security and trust at IDC, added that in 2018, IDC pointed to the changing face of security in which employees, applications and data were moving off-premises. He said the result was a focus on the four new control points of security: endpoints, applications, identity, and data.
“This acquisition is all about data security,” Dickson said. “HelpSystems focuses on systems and network management, business intelligence, security, and compliance. Clearly, HelpSystems is making a big security play, looking to integrate DLP into its offering. However, Digital Guardian brings more than just software. Digital Guardian looks to take a comprehensive solution approach to data loss, addressing the needs of organizations with both software and managed services.”
