Tampa cybersecurity firm Spirion launches in the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kuwait and Africa with Spire Solutions

Tampa cybersecurity firm Spirion launches in the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kuwait and Africa with Spire Solutions

US based Spirion LLC is strengthening its cybersecurity portfolio by partnering and launching in the Middle East with Dubai-based Spire Solutions.

The partnership will see the Tampa based company extend its software distribution channels at a global level across both public and private sectors.

Spirion President and CEO Kevin Coppins says the company’s specialisms of data protection and compliance have been in high demand in the Middle East and North Africa, and continue to be highly sought after. As data privacy and tighter cybersecurity become more of a business need across countries such as UAE, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Qatar as well as North Africa, the demand is expected to grow further.

Spirion was founded in New York in 2006 but relocated to Tampa Bay in 2018. The company is backed by Cleveland-based private equity firm The Riverside Company, which is reported to have invested around $20 million to build out Spirion’s software platform.

Speaking to Tampa Bay Business Journal, Coppins said: “What’s interesting about this partnership is countries around the world are recognising the sovereign rights of digital privacy and equating it to physical privacy.”

Data breaches and ransomware attacks have also been heavily focused on recently due to the rise in these type of attacks, particularly in the Middle East and Africa. As a result, the cybersecurity industry has become more focused on data protection and providing support to customers as both preventative and reactive measures.

Coppins explained: “Security vendors used to say ‘it’s not if you get breached, it’s when,’ now it’s no longer when, it’s how often. People are realising that your digital self is as important as your physical self.”

Spirion has around 200 distribution agreements, including with European countries and South Africa, and approximately 500 clients who are predominantly U.S. based.

Spire, which has an office in Saudi Arabia, operates in over 15 countries in the region with more than 1000 government and enterprise clients and 500 channel partnerships.