OpenText Acquires Pillr MDR Platform From Novacoast

The company says the addition of the MSSP-focused Pillr platform ‘accelerates OpenText's cybersecurity product road map.’

OpenText said Wednesday it has acquired the Pillr managed detection and response (MDR) platform from cybersecurity services powerhouse Novacoast.

The terms of the deal were not disclosed. The acquisition deal will see some employees joining OpenText along with the transfer of Pillr’s technology and customers, according to a news release.

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OpenText told CRN it’s not disclosing how many employees from the Pillr team will be joining the company in connection with the deal.

In 2022, Wichita, Kan.-based Novacoast, No. 263 on CRN’s 2023 Solution Provider 500, rebranded its novaSOC security operations platform as Pillr. The Pillr team has since been working with MSPs and MSSPs to bring managed security to smaller businesses, Pillr Chief Science Officer Adam Gray told CRN last year.

Pillr enables partners to bring 24x7 Security Operations Center (SOC) services to SMB customers, and as of a year ago was working with 1,300 partners in North America and Europe, Gray, who is also the CTO of Novacoast, said at the time.

In the news release Wednesday, OpenText said the addition of the Pillr MDR platform “accelerates” its cybersecurity product road map.

Combining Pillr’s MSSP-focused technology with OpenText’s expertise “provides enhanced threat hunting, monitoring and response for customers where skill gaps, skill shortages and alert fatigue create a significant need today,” the company said in the release.

New capabilities that will be enabled through the acquisition include “API integrations and product/pricing bundling for MSPs,” OpenText said.

The deal ultimately “strengthens OpenText's position in the cybersecurity market,” said Mark Barrenechea, CEO and CTO of OpenText, in a quote included in the release.

OpenText executives previously told CRN the company has been finding major traction with partners—especially those that favor vendors that can offer a broad portfolio of cybersecurity and data protection capabilities.

The OpenText cybersecurity portfolio includes endpoint security, threat intelligence, data protection and email encryption from a series of acquisitions. In 2023, OpenText added more security capabilities to its portfolio with the $5.8 billion acquisition of enterprise software provider Micro Focus.