Merger Complete: Optiv Security Officially Launches As Security Solutions Powerhouse

It's official – a security solution provider behemoth has been born.

Accuvant and FishNet Security announced at Black Hat 2015 that the two companies had officially finished their merger into a $1.5 billion security solutions provider known as Optiv Security.

The company first announced its merger in November and closed in February. For the past six months, the company, under the leadership of former Accuvant CEO Dan Burns, has been firing on all cylinders to integrate not only the company's combined 1,400 employees under the new brand but also its technical systems.

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While the opportunity to take two security powerhouses and rebrand them under a single name and company culture was important, Dan Wilson, executive vice president of partner solutions, said the more important piece of the merger is that it is a giant leap forward for the company, now known as Optiv, to be a solutions-focused company instead of a more traditional security reseller.

"This is both an opportunity to rebrand, but really to relaunch the strategy and become more of a solution-focused company," Wilson said in an interview with CRN at Black Hat. "That really is critical."

CEO Dan Burns agreed, saying in a statement that, in order to combat the "multifaceted problem" that is cybersecurity today, customers are demanding a holistic approach that comes with a solution provider, not a reseller. That includes defining business objectives, identification of risks, prioritization of data, strategy, processes and technology, he said. With this shift, Optiv is positioned to handle those kinds of customer demands, he said.

’Optiv has the know-how and experience that organizations need to target a problem or project, or bring it all together in a holistic fashion with an ongoing, programmatic approach. We understand all the pieces and parts, sort through the vast options, and help clients identify, evaluate and implement the best solution for their unique security needs," Burn said.

One example of a way that Optiv does that is its Office of the CISO, a 40-person team largely made up of former large organization CISOs. That team is able to talk to clients about business challenges and the bigger-picture security landscape to help them form a strategy. That's a "big investment," Wilson said, and it's already starting to pay off with clients.

"The Office of the CISO represents which is the investment that we're making in our business. ... It's one where we're not only talking the talk but ... is also the best representation of us walking the walk," Wilson said. "I really feel strongly that the Office of the CISO is the best representation of how actively we're executing on that shift to our new model."

Optiv will also be making a big investment going forward in managed services, an area that both organizations individually had smaller practices in. The organization already has about 200 people in it covering three security operations centers. The company will look to invest the "bulk of our investment dollars" in a broad range of managed service offerings, from more traditional device management services to higher-level analytics work and actionable intelligence, Wilson said.

"That is an area that we will continue to make significant investments in," Wilson said. "That is the biggest focus in at least the foreseeable future because, frankly, that business should be 10 times the size that it is right now ... just on meeting our clients' demands."

The challenge for Optiv going forward, Wilson said, is that, as a combined force, the companies are by far the largest security solution provider in the market. While that poses a big advantage, it also poses a challenge as the company must take a leading role in setting the tone and direction for the industry going forward, he said.

"That's a little bit of a challenge, but it's exciting. ... We're excited to be at the front of the pack," Wilson said.

PUBLISHED AUG. 5, 2015