Datto's cyber security team catalysed recent Infocyte acquisition

Datto has acquired threat detection and response company Infocyte for an undisclosed sum, expanding Datto's security portfolio with technology focused on endpoint and cloud environment protections.

Datto said it will be taking on all of Texas-based Infocyte's 27 employees and is "taking its time" with the integration of Infocyte's technology into its own stack. A number of Infocyte's services are still in the market today and Datto CEO Tim Weller told IT Pro that other technology will start to be integrated into products that sit on top of Datto Remote Monitoring and Management (RMM) in the second half of this year.

"It was just a very good fit," said Weller. "We’re interested, organically, in everything they’re doing and there’s nothing that they’re doing we weren’t interested in.

"That’s unusual in M&A, usually you’re taking the good with the bad, or you’re getting the tech but don’t like the team, or you’re getting a great team but you’ve got to throw the tech away," he added. "It happened organically through the businesses just getting to know each other, and I like that."

As part of its due diligence, Datto also called managed service providers (MSPs) who have worked with Infocyte and "they just had glowing reviews of the company," said Weller.

Before concrete acquisition talks started to take place, Weller was first made aware of Infocyte's technology by Datto's own cyber security team. The initial recommendation to acquire the company came from the company's own experts who were involved throughout the process once negotiations began.

"Our information security team found them, and they’re always looking, even as a customer, [and asking:] ‘who can we go find technology from and what’s interesting,'" said Weller.

In addition to the new endpoint protection capabilities Datto will be able to offer its MSP customers, the company said it's also gaining a team with extensive real-world experience.

Infocyte was founded by threat intelligence experts from the US military who helped build the first cyber defence systems in the Air Force, Weller said. Having a rich background of real-world experience was a particularly attractive quality in Infocyte, he added, one that was preferable over a more "academic" alternative.

Datto said it's always looking to acquire tech-first people, "looking to buy things we think will really solve security problems for MSPs", rather than proven money-making businesses.

"We look forward to joining Datto and to further securing the SMBs and other clients served by its vast network of MSPs around the world,” said Curtis Hutcheson, CEO at Infocyte in a statement. "Securing endpoints from advanced threats continues to be a top challenge for SMBs. With Datto’s partner community and growing security portfolio, we will be able to dramatically expand our reach to millions of endpoints under management, enabling Datto’s partners to provide their SMB customers with leading detection and response technologies."