5 Companies That Came To Win This Week

The Week Ending June 24

Topping this week's roundup of companies that came to win is Accenture, for its plans to step up its game in the IT security arena and for making a key related acquisition.

Also making the list were MapR Technologies, for its expanded channel efforts; Samsung, for its plans to spend $1.2 billion over the next four years on Internet of Things research and startups; LightCyber, for its venture capital win that will accelerate its momentum; and Red Hat for its acquisition of a leading API technology developer.

Not everyone in the IT industry was making smart moves this week, of course. For a rundown of companies that were unfortunate, unsuccessful or just didn't make good decisions, check out this week's Five Companies That Had A Rough Week roundup.

Accenture Starts Security Unit, Buys Israeli Security Tech Developer

Systems integration giant Accenture is stepping up its game in the fast-growing IT security arena, bringing all of its security products and services under one cybersecurity roof and hiring a longtime Deloitte executive to help grow the practice to well over $1 billion.

Accenture said it would invest tens of millions of dollars in acquisitions and organic growth initiatives as part of its IT cybersecurity push. The company is particularly looking to expand its presence in such areas as mobile security and traditional governance, risk and compliance consulting.

The new cybersecurity unit's capabilities got an additional boost when Accenture struck a deal this week to acquire Maglan, an Israel-based developer of technology used for security breach simulations, vulnerability countermeasures, cyber forensics and defenses against malware.

MapR Aims For VARs, Systems Integrators With New Partner Program

Hadoop software vendor MapR Technologies is firing up a new partner program with an eye toward expanding its channel presence and recruiting more partners -- especially VARs and systems integrators -- to help the company meet the growing demand for its big data software

MapR had a basic channel program in place and its partner roster is heavy with co-development and ISV partners. But with growing demand for its Hadoop-based MapR Converged Data Platform, the San Jose, Calif.-based company knows that it can't take advantage of all the potential sales opportunities with its direct sales force.

That spurred the launch of the new MapR Converge Partners Program and plans to recruit more partners, especially VARs and systems integrators with big data practices and expertise in vertical industries.

Samsung Betting $1.2 Billion On Internet Of Things Research, Startups

Samsung made it clear this week that Internet of Things technology will be a major part of its strategy, detailing plans to spend $1.2 billion over the next four years for IoT-related research and investments in IoT startups. Samsung Vice Chairman and CEO Oh-Hyun Kwon disclosed the investment plans at a Samsung-hosted forum in Washington, D.C.

The investments will focus on the use of IoT applications with social benefits -- "human-centered IOT" -- such as digital health care, autonomous vehicles and other smart machines like robots.

The announcement comes one week after Samsung revealed plans to acquire U.S. cloud firm Joyent to bolster its IoT-related software and service offerings. And last year the company launched Artik, a system-on-a-chip that connects devices and applications.

LightCyber Fuels Its Momentum With $20M In VC Funding

Security startup LightCyber this week landed $20 million in Series B funding, money the supplier of behavioral attack detection technology will use to help reach its goal of 400 percent sales growth this year.

The company said it will invest the capital primarily in sales and marketing, including devoting significant additional resources to partners such as lead generation and channel events and recruitment.

Last month, the company launched the LightCyber Technology Alliance Program, an initiative for vendors with security technologies that complement LightCyber's behavioral attack detection software.

Red Hat Seals Deal To Acquire API Management Company 3Scale

Application Programming Interfaces are a critical part of today's heterogeneous, hybrid IT systems. But managing those proliferating APIs has become a major IT headache, leading to growing demand for tools for building and managing APIs.

This week, open-source software developer Red Hat struck a deal to acquire 3Scale, a leading provider of API management technology. The move strengthens Red Hat's competitive position in the market for technology that simplifies cloud integration and microservices-based architectures.