Source: www.govinfosecurity.com – Author:
Identity & Access Management , Security Operations
PE Firm Takes Majority Stake to Drive Certificate Lifecycle Management Innovation Michael Novinson (MichaelNovinson) • November 22, 2024
Haveli purchased a certificate lifecycle management vendor led by the former CEO of Bromium to help fulfill increasing demand for automation and managing non-human identities.
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The Austin-based private equity firm said acquiring a majority interest in AppViewX will help the New York-based firm capture the growing market opportunity due to emerging compliance standards and security challenges. CEO Gregory Webb said AppViewX plans to enhance its capabilities in non-human identity management and invest heavily in expanding its global footprint while maintaining profitability.
“Based on the successes we’ve had, it became apparent that we needed to go spend a bit more money and really begin to build out a global go-to-market with best-in-class capabilities,” he told Information Security Media Group. “To get to linear and predictable revenue, we think that’s going to take some additional investment on the go-to-market front, where we plan to invest heavily in partners.”
How AppViewX Will Benefit From Haveli’s Backing
AppViewX was founded in 2008 and stood up as an independent company in 2016, employs 542 people, and has raised more than $50 million in outside funding, including a $20 million Series B round in July 2022 led by Brighton Park Capital. The company has been led since November 2019 by Webb, who previously spent three years atop endpoint security startup Bromium until it was acquired by HP Inc. (see: ConnectWise’s Rivelo Aims to Secure SMBs With MSP Platform)
Webb said AppViewX hit an inflection point at which product maturity and market demand necessitated significant capital to scale globally and build predictable revenue streams. Increasing compliance needs and customer demand for automation created the perfect moment for scaling operations globally. He said Haveli’s reputation for scaling enterprise software companies and post-deal investments stood out.
“We’re looking for a partner who understands this space, appreciates the space, who also has the strategic capabilities from previous experience to know what it takes to grow enterprise software companies rapidly, and who are willing to spend the money to invest appropriately where they’re going to write a very large check post-deal to support top-line growth,” Webb said.
AppViewX will use the money to hire an experienced chief revenue officer, who will oversee expansion of the field sales, inside sales, pre-sales and post-sales teams, Webb said. The company wants to expand into emerging economies in Asia-Pacific, do more in the United Kingdom, Central Europe, and German-speaking countries, and debut local sales teams to address needs in Latin America and the Middle East.
“We will work to bring on actual sellers who are who are either on the ground or close to the ground,” Webb said. “We can fly in, for instance, from the U.K.”
Capturing Opportunity Around Protecting Non-Human Identities
The certificate lifecycle management platform – with its automation and multi-tenant SaaS capabilities – remains AppViewX’s primary revenue generator, according to Webb. He said the next frontier involves managing non-human identities including service accounts, API keys and other machine-based credentials, which will consolidate identity management for both humans and machines under a single platform.
“There’s clearly a little bit of a converging market between the human identity and the need to provide heavily governed, regulated access for those humans to the right systems and applications on the non-human side,” Webb said.
Shorter certificate lifecycles mandated by Apple and Google fuel demand for lifecycle management tools, and Webb said the market is significantly underpenetrated, with less than 15% adoption by target enterprises. AppViewX’s primary competitors are Keyfactor and Venafi, with the company holding an edge in both automation as well as multi-tenant SaaS capabilities, according to Webb.
“Every time we compete in the market just on technology, we have about an 85-to-90% win rate,” Webb said. “We believe, therefore, it’s time to go invest in the go-to-market, including branding, so that we get better.”
AppViewX wants to maintain a 30% year-over-year growth rate, and is focused on growing revenue streams predictably through expanded customer acquisition and retention strategies, Webb said. The company also wants to maintain strong gross profit margins on SaaS products and achieve net revenue retention of more than 120%, reflecting an ability to grow revenue through cross-selling and upselling.
“Haveli has invested in or underwritten a very large exit at some point in the future,” Webb said. “Their core view is that the market is large enough to support all three vendors in the space to get to a billion-plus dollar outcomes. There’s enough white space out there.”
Original Post URL: https://www.govinfosecurity.com/haveli-purchases-appviewx-to-strengthen-identity-automation-a-26893
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