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Hartford, Conn., Computer Security Firm Markets to North America

Posted on: Thursday, 22 September 2005, 00:00 CDT

Sep. 22--Hackers, viruses, worms and Trojan horse programs.

Name the threat and experts discussed it Wednesday in Hartford at a corporate computer "security summit" organized by Integralis, the fast-growing U.S. division of global computer security firm Articon-Integralis.

More than 80 technology managers, consultants, vendors and others attended sessions at the new Hartford Marriott with titles such as "The New Threat Landscape,""Access without Compromise" and "Real-Time Security Intelligence."

For Integralis, the conference, which continues today, is the latest effort in an aggressive plan to raise its image and boost its growth across North America.

Already employing 57 people at its East Hartford headquarters, Integralis recently opened new offices in Greater Boston, New York City and Raleigh, N.C.

By June 2006, the company hopes to have opened another nine offices in cities across the U.S. and perhaps in Canada, as well.

Employment, meanwhile, is projected to grow to about 100 by this time next year, including another five to 10 positions in East Hartford, according to Thomas Wagg, Integralis' president of U.S. operations.

"This year, the company decided it would invest in the North American arm that we weren't focused on in the past," he said. Articon-Integralis is headquartered in England.

Integralis' services include designing, installing and maintaining Internet firewalls for large and small corporations eager to protect their internal networks from potential threats.

The company also offers consulting and auditing services aimed at supplementing the existing resources of corporations that may want help with upgrades or new equipment installations.

Integralis partners include such security hardware and software vendors as Checkpoint Software Technologies Ltd., Nokia and Internet Security Systems Inc.

Already well-established in Europe, Integralis hopes that expanding its footprint in the U.S. will lead to new clients and growth opportunities. The company entered the U.S. market in 1999 when it acquired Atlantic Computing of East Hartford.

Overall 2004 revenues for the parent company, Articon-Integralis, were $105.5 million at current exchange rates. U.S. operations contributed roughly 15 percent of that total, putting the division in third place behind divisions in England and Germany.

The U.S. division remained in third place through the first half of 2005, according to company financial reports, but the growth strategy appears to be showing results. First-half revenues for the U.S. division in 2005 are 27 percent ahead of the same period last year.

Allan Carey, a security industry analyst for research firm IDC of Framingham, Mass., said Integralis is benefiting from the overall growth of the technology security market -- growth driven in part by regulatory demands for greater security for medical, corporate and financial data, he said.

Carey also said Integralis has the opportunity to take market share away from independent security companies as well as such national competitors as Verisign Inc. and Symantec.

"I would consider them an emerging player in the U.S. marketplace," he said of Integralis.

One customer, Michael P. Thomas, information technology manager for Weston Capital Management, an investment firm in Westport, said Integralis' services have been valuable in helping evaluate various new security products and in responding quickly to emerging threats.

"The number of threats is multiplying," Thomas said.

Chrisopher Meile, the company's U.S. product marketing manager, said getting Integralis' services in front of more customers is critical, which is why the company is opening so many new offices.

"We have a strong security offering that we think is competitive with anything that's out there and we intend to introduce ourselves to North America, not just the Northeast," he said.

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Copyright (c) 2005, The Hartford Courant, Conn.

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MAR,

Source: The Hartford Courant, Connecticut

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