rhipe acquires cyber security distribution specialist, emt Distribution

APAC’s leading cloud and technology solutions provider, rhipe (ASX: RHP), has announced that cyber security distribution specialist, emt Distribution, has joined the rhipe portfolio.

The acquisition of emt strengthens rhipe’s presence in security software distribution and will expand rhipe’s offering into the enterprise market, providing partners with a full spectrum of security solutions from a wide choice of vendors, to help them build their own security portfolio. emt’s security product offering is centred around the Australian Signals Directorate’s eight essential requirements for a company’s cyber defence strategy.

The emt business is positioned for growth in the expanding cyber security market, with Gartner predicting security and risk management spending to continue throughout 2021. In Australia alone, organisations are expected to spend over $4.9 billion on information security and risk management products and services by the end of 2021.[i]

The acquisition complements rhipe’s existing cyber security software offerings centred around Microsoft’s product stack and rhipe’s own SMB focused encryption product SmartEncrypt, enabling rhipe to deliver a comprehensive portfolio of end-to-end security capabilities to its partners.

Dominic O’Hanlon, CEO of rhipe said, “emt Distribution has an incredible track record in delivering software security products and solutions via their distribution channels. By combining emt’s expertise in security solutions with rhipe’s reach, we will be able to offer rhipe partners across APAC effective solutions to protect against growing threats around cyber security. 

“We plan to continue investing in the emt business to support its continued growth, delivering emt’s extensive portfolio of vendor security products to rhipe partners, while providing emt partners with access to SmartEncrypt and rhipe security vendor products.  We look forward to welcoming the emt team to the rhipe family and leveraging their outstanding skills and expertise, to deliver greater outcomes for our partners and their customers.”

Richard Rundle, Founder and CEO of emt said, “As we enter our next stage of growth, we are thrilled to be joining the rhipe family to collectively execute on the opportunities ahead. I could not be prouder of our team’s success to date and believe this is a significant opportunity to align with a distributor of rhipe’s calibre, to greatly enhance our capabilities and market reach.”

emt was founded in 1988 and has a portfolio of over 15 security vendors that offer cyber security solutions, catering to the needs of both small and medium businesses (SMB) and large enterprises. Services provided by emt include pre and post sales technical support and professional services.

The purchase includes emt’s products, solutions and assets, with Richard Rundle now responsible for driving the continued growth of the emt business within rhipe as well as supporting the expansion of rhipe’s security offering to its existing partners. emt’s 21 employees from its Australian-based and Asia offices will also join the rhipe family, with the Middle East operations likely to join rhipe in the coming months.