US and UK security vendors get hitched

The consolidation between the US and UK security vendor fraternities continues apace with news Webroot Software and Email Systems have tied the knot.

US-based Webroot said the move would allow it to deliver hosted email and web security packages featuring email archiving, image scanning and encryption, anti-spam, anti-phishing and antivirus services. According to market-watcher IDC, the global hosted messaging security services market will grow from $300m (£145m) in 2006 to $1.4bn by 2011.

The union comes less than two months after US security vendor Websense snapped up UK rival SurfControl, which resulted in heavy personnel cuts on this side of the Atlantic.

However, Webroot was quick to stress it would retain all current employees and even “accelerate” recruitment, citing the “rapid growth” of both companies.

Email Systems claims to protect more than 1,500 businesses and 2.5 million email boxes worldwide. The company currently filters and scans more than 1.2 billion messages per month.

Mike Irwin, chief operating officer at Webroot, said: “Email Systems offers an unrivalled SaaS technology that represents a tipping point in enterprise security. We now have the opportunity to offer it on a much bigger scale.”

Neil Hammerton, chief executive of Email Systems, said: “By joining forces, we are poised to provide one of the most unique and powerful security solutions in the industry. SaaS is a disruptive technology that we’ve seen grow to dominate business applications and expect to see the same with security.”