Atlanta data privacy and security company OneTrust bought Denver, Co.-based software company Convercent to build out its ethics and compliance capabilities.
OneTrust Co-Chaiman Alan Dabbiere called it a “whistleblowing” software, which allows employees to report problems they see within the company, anonymously or otherwise.
“The more employees trust that they have a venue to report things that bother them a little, the less often those little things drag on and turn into things that are big and suddenly become issues on social media and the news,” Dabbiere said.
The acquisition allows OneTrust to accelerate the development of its OneTrust Ethics software, Dabbiere said. Convercent’s technology, 700 customers and 150 employees will integrate into company, according to a March 23 release. The financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.
Dabbiere said Convercent had the most enhanced technology in this marketplace out of OneTrust’s competitors. For example, the startup had a sophisticated way to keep complaints anonymous while securely reaching out to the employee who complained for follow-up information.
The goal of the ethics software is to prevent problems from becoming larger issues.
“When something is so big that it goes external, there’s been a lead up to it that hadn’t been identified,” Dabbiere said. “It could have been avoided.”
OneTrust, now a global technology company with a $5.1 billion valuation, aims to have a suite of products to help other companies manage their trust, ethics, privacy and data security. The ethics software is one of eight programs in the OneTrust suite.
"Your brand is becoming much broader than your product,” Dabbiere said. “Consumers want to know that you are a trustworthy, ethical company.”
Convercent is OneTrust’s sixth acquisition, and Dabbiere said there may be more on the horizon as the company continues to expand its capabilities.
At the beginning of the month, OneTrust acquired Docuvision Inc. for its ability to use artificial intelligence to redact specific information. In 2020, the company acquired Integris Software to enhance its automated privacy, security and data governance programs.
OneTrust Environmental, Social & Governance is the company’s newest software, which allows clients to manage initiatives in those areas, such as carbon output or diversity, equity and inclusion programs.
Convercent’s technology will also help OneTrust build out that platform, a spokesperson for the company said.
OneTrust, named the No. 1 fastest-growing private company in America by Inc. Magazine, raised a $300 million Series C round at the end of last year. The company has about 1,500 employees in its Atlanta and London co-headquarters and in 10 other offices around the world.
