News Analysis: Dell has acquired SecureWorks for an undisclosed sum. With this latest acquisition, the company could be closer to reinventing itself as a go-to enterprise IT systems provider.
Dell
is well on its way to rounding out its IT management services. The company
announced on Jan. 4 that it agreed to acquire SecureWorks, which provides
managed security services. The terms were not disclosed, but the PC maker was
quick to point out that the deal will vastly improve its ability to deliver
more data security to companies around the world. As one might expect,
SecureWorks believes it can deliver the same level of appeal to companies as it
did prior to the acquisition.
Dell
hopes to close the deal with SecureWorks later this year. When it does, the
company will have yet another IT service at its disposal to improve its
standing in the enterprise, showing once and for all that it can do more than just
compete with HP in the PC market. With SecureWorks in tow, Dell is now a worrisome
enterprise competitor, and it's time for others in that market to realize
that.
Read
on to find out why SecureWorks will help Dell and its entire operation.
1.
It's a security game
In
today's corporate world, the
most
important aspect of any IT decision-maker's job is maintaining security.
SecureWorks is well-positioned in that market. The company currently "processes
more than 13 billion security events" every day, and its intrusion-prevention
tools and vulnerability scanning have proven useful to thousands of clients
around the world. The company simply "gets" security; Dell will benefit heavily
from that.
2.
Dell needs a better enterprise option
Prior
to acquiring SecureWorks, Dell's enterprise offering was still a work in
progress. The
company's
recent acquisition of Compellent helped, but it was the security option
that Dell needed to improve upon. With the help of SecureWorks, Dell can now
deliver a more well-rounded service to corporate customers. This should be
enough to put its competition on notice.
3.
Looking to the world
SecureWorks
made an important acquisition in 2009: It bought DNS Limited, which delivered
security services to many companies in Europe. It proved to be integral to
SecureWorks' ability to expand beyond the U.S.
and into the highly profitable European market. By acquiring SecureWorks, Dell
now gains that additional foothold in Europe, which should allow it to expand greatly
in that market.
4.
Managed security is growing
Market-research
firm Gartner recently released a
study
that looked at the expected growth of managed security services in the coming
years. The company found that, in 2009, total managed security revenue in North
America hit $1.8 billion. It expects that figure to rise to $2.3 billion in
2010. Gartner noted that such growth would continue, making it clear that
managed security is on the rise. With the help of SecureWorks, Dell can build
on that growth.
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