Instil secures cyber consultancy acquisition

A Belfast-based cyber security consultancy has been bought by fellow Northern Irish product development organisation Instil.

Vertical Structure, founded in 2006 by Simon Whittaker and Marc Dowie, specialises in human-focused security and penetration testing services for web applications, cloud infrastructure and mobile applications.
It carries out technical security training helping companies achieve certification to international standards including ISO27001 and Cyber Essentials.

Founded in 2005, Instil’s services include product development, delivering next generation software products; cloud engineering, developing well-architected modern cloud solutions; digital modernisation, rethinking business models and training.

According to Instil the acquisition of Vertical Structure supplements its organic growth of 35 per cent and represents a key part of its strategic objective to grow its business to £50m annual turnover within five years.

Tara Simpson, chief executive and founder of Instil, said: "Simon and Marc have grown a fantastic company that we’ve had the pleasure of partnering with for many years. Cyber security is a must-have for organisations around the world and, with this acquisition, we are now in a position to be able to deliver consultancy which meets that demand."

Whittaker, chief executive of Vertical Structure, added: "We are incredibly excited to become an integral part of the Instil team at a key juncture in their growth. This provides us with the means to cement future growth and opens our cyber security offering up to a much wider audience.”

Cyber security has become a growing concern for firms of all sizes in recent years following many high-profile and costly breaches such as those on The NHS and British Airways.

According to recent UK government figures half of all firms have reported having experienced some form of cyber security breach or attack in the last 12 months. However only a third of businesses have undertaken cyber security risk assessments over that period.

Find out more about why consultancy firms are so attractive to buyers

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