Maltese company, Altaro Software, acquired by Europe’s leading email cloud security provider

Altaro, the Maltese provider of backup software solutions worldwide, has today announced that Hornetsecurity, the leading email cloud security provider in Europe, has acquired the company. This will result in a stronger entity, coupled with geographical expansion and a larger team.

With Hornetsecurity’s email and compliance solutions and Altaro’s renowned backup solutions, the company is poised to become the top security and backup company in Europe.

From a humble, bootstrapped start-up to a global provider

Four Maltese individuals - David Vella, Julian Pace Ross, Simon Attard and Stephen Chetcuti Bonavita - founded the company in 2009, working together from a makeshift basement office. From those humble beginnings, this Maltese company has attracted more than 50,000 customers in 121+ countries, including Amazon, the BBC, Volvo and NASA. Today, Altaro Software has a 120-strong team with offices in Malta, the US, the UK, Germany, France and North Macedonia.

Altaro has now hit a new milestone by joining the formidable Hornetsecurity, a cloud security specialist headquartered in Germany. With around 200 employees, Hornetsecurity is represented globally in 11 locations and operates in more than 30 countries through its international channel partner network. Its premium services are used by more than 40,000 customers including Swisscom, Telefónica and KONICA MINOLTA.

Altaro management remains on board

"All Altaro co-founders will remain on board and will occupy leadership roles within the Hornetsecurity Group,” said Vella, CEO of Altaro, expressing both commitment to and excitement about the new venture. Likewise, the Altaro team will be retained and expanded, with various new hires planned.

He explained that Altaro has received various prior investment and acquisition offers but had always been careful about its next steps.

"We have found exactly the right strategic buyer in Hornetsecurity and are delighted to become part of the group,” he said. “The synergies between the two companies are obvious. Through our combined know-how and experience, and the innovative combination of our product suites, Hornetsecurity's European market leadership in cloud security has reached a new level."

Expanding the Altaro team through more investment

Daniel Hofmann, CEO of Hornetsecurity said: "Our goal is to provide organisations with a complete security and compliance solution for their cloud technologies. By integrating Altaro's backup solutions into Hornetsecurity's product portfolio, we can provide a comprehensive package to protect customers data."

Explaining that the company will continue investing in the entire Altaro team while also employing new recruits, Hoffman revealed: “We will expand the company’s current international locations in the coming years to provide our partners with new products and solutions even faster.”

Listing some of Hornet security’s reasons for this investment, Daniel Blank, COO of Hornetsecurity, said: "Altaro's excellent products, its 100% commitment to the channel and its partners’ clear respect of their technical support were key factors in our decision. The acquisition will also strengthen our international marketing and sales, which will further boost growth of the entire Hornetsecurity Group."