France's Orange announced Friday that it has bought U.K.-based SecureData for an undisclosed sum.
SecureData, which is the largest independent security provider in the U.K., gives Orange added heft in its goal to be a leading player in the European cybersecurity market. SecureData will work alongside Orange Cyberdefense's existing operations in France and Belgium.
SecureData is now able to tap into Orange Business Services' sales force and customer base of more than 3,000 multinational companies. SecureData, which has more than 200 employees in the U.K. and South Africa, generated revenues of €50 million ($57 million) last year while posting consistent growth rates of approximately 20% since 2016.
SecureData also brings a consulting arm, which is called SensePost, and a London-based cybersecurity operations center into Orange's cybersecurity stable.
“We are very proud and happy to announce the acquisition of SecureData, which will mark a major milestone in Orange’s development in Europe’s cybersecurity market," said Hugues Foulon, Executive Director of Strategy and Cybersecurity activities at Orange, in a prepared statement. "SecureData, just like Orange Cyberdefense, has successfully made the transition toward managed security services, and shares the same passion for cyber."
REPORT: Managed security services a sweet spot for service providers—report
Managed security services are a growing revenue opportunity for service providers' and vendors' bottom lines. According to International Data Corporation's updated Worldwide Semiannual Security Spending Guide, which came out in October, managed security services are the largest segment within the security services category.
IDC's report said that security-related services will be both the largest—with $40.2 billion in spending this year—and the fastest growing (at 12% compound annual growth rate) category of worldwide security spending.
Managed security services are expected to deliver nearly 50% of the category's total in 2022, with integration and consulting security services accounting for most of the remainder. Overall, worldwide security spending is forecast by IDC to reach $133.7 billion by 2022, with a CAGR of 10%. As a result, security spending in 2022 will be 45% greater than the $92 billion forecast last year.
In August, Cisco announced it was buying Duo Security for $2.35 billion in cash and assumed equity awards in order to beef up its security portfolio.
On the service provider front, CenturyLink announced in December it had blended Palo Alto Networks' next-generation firewalls into its Security Log Monitoring service.