Rockwell Automation keeps its acquisition team busy. This announcement reveals an acquisition in the cybersecurity area bolstering the services business part of the company. Before long the services business will be larger than the software & control business. Still trailing the traditional product portfolio, though.
Rockwell Automation Inc., the world’s largest company dedicated to industrial automation and digital transformation, announced it has signed a definitive agreement to acquire Verve Industrial Protection, a cybersecurity software and services company that focuses specifically on industrial environments, expanding the offerings of Rockwell with an industry-leading asset inventory system and vulnerability management solution.
The Verve Security Center platform enables real-time asset inventory, vulnerability management, and risk remediation that will strengthen Rockwell’s current offerings and address these issues.
“The foundation of OT cybersecurity starts with visibility into assets – you can’t protect what you don’t know you have. This continues to be a critical challenge for manufacturers,” said Matt Fordenwalt, Rockwell’s senior vice president, Lifecycle Services. “With the Verve acquisition, our customers can quickly assess their assets, prioritize risk, and apply countermeasures to mitigate vulnerabilities – all within a single platform. The addition of Verve to our suite of solutions allows customers to further build resiliency and continuously improve the security, safety, and availability of their operations.”
The Verve Security Center platform was built to provide IT-level security while addressing the unique challenges of the OT environment. At the center of the Verve platform is an asset inventory system that recognizes all industrial assets, regardless of manufacturer. Verve’s proprietary approach communicates directly with the assets, gathering critical information without impacting network performance and interrupting production. It then aggregates a wide range of data sources, including Rockwell’s partner technologies, into its platform as a “single pane of glass” that provides actionable insight for customers to quickly address their highest risk assets.
Verve professional services also provide ongoing remediation, along with strategic roadmap and business case development, further deepening Rockwell’s cybersecurity consulting capabilities. Going forward, customers will benefit from comprehensive capabilities that span the entire attack continuum with the combined expertise of Verve, Rockwell, and Rockwell’s technology partnerships.
The acquisition is subject to customary approvals and is expected to close in the first quarter of Rockwell’s fiscal year 2024. At close, Verve will report into Rockwell’s Lifecycle Services operating segment.
