Further proving Colorado Springs’ growing technology and startup ecosystem, two local software companies were acquired this week in big national deals.
First up, Deloitte announced on Jan. 25 its acquisition of Root9B (R9B), a provider of advanced cyber threat hunting services and solutions.
The deal was made to bolster Deloitte’s existing cyber client offering with R9B’s threat-hunting and risk assessment solutions.
“Our shared commitment to our clients’ missions and recognition of the importance of combining exceptional technology, people and processes to solve the most challenging security problems of our day makes joining Deloitte a logical next step in our story,” R9B founder and CEO Eric Hipkins said in a statement. “At Deloitte, we’ll be able to accelerate scaling and development of offerings we consider vital to proactive cyber threat hunting and remediation.”
In June, the company awarded a multiyear contract worth $4.1 million by the City of Charlotte, North Carolina, to provide its cybersecurity services.
Following that acquisition, Ivanti, an IT automation platform, announced on Jan. 26 that it has signed a definitive agreement to acquire Cherwell Software, an enterprise service management solutions company.
Ivanti is acquiring Cherwell to expand the reach of its platform, providing end-to-end service and IT asset management. Upon completion of the transaction, the combined company will be led by Ivanti chairman and CEO Jim Schaper. The terms of the deal were not disclosed.
“We are excited to join Ivanti and help our customers achieve better business outcomes, innovate faster, and digitally transform their businesses with a unified IT management solution,” said Cherwell CEO Sam Gilliland in a statement. “As it relates to the future of work, Ivanti shares our belief that secure, automated workflows can dramatically change and improve the daily lives of employees while also driving trusted business outcomes. We look forward to continuing to innovate to address the growing market demand for the future of work, giving our customers the critical tools they need to tackle IT challenges associated with the new normal.”
Since its founding in 2004, Cherwell raised more than $225 million venture capital, including a $172 million investment from KKR in 2018.
These two acquisitions come in the same month as Colorado Springs-based Quantum Metrics announced that it has become Colorado’s latest tech unicorn. On Jan. 7, Quantum Metric closed a $200 million Series B round led by Insight Partners at a valuation exceeding $1 billion.
The company has about 220 employees spread across the world, including in offices in Denver and Colorado Springs. Following the round, the company said it will look to grow to about 400 team members by the end of the year.
