Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1328236
6 NEWS 14.01.2021 ALTARO, the Maltese pro- vider of backup software solu- tions worldwide, has today announced that Hornetsecuri- ty, the leading email cloud se- curity provider in Europe, has acquired the company. is will result in a stronger entity, coupled with geographical ex- pansion and a larger team. With Hornetsecurity's email and compliance solutions and Altaro's renowned back- up solutions, the company is poised to become the top se- curity 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, work- ing together from a makeshift basement office. From those humble beginnings, this Mal- tese 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 of- fices in Malta, the US, the UK, Germany, France and North Macedonia. Altaro has now hit a new milestone by joining the formi- dable Hornetsecurity, a cloud security specialist headquar- tered 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 Swiss- com, Telefónica and KONICA MINOLTA. Altaro management remains on board "All Altaro co-founders will remain on board and will oc- cupy leadership roles within the Hornetsecurity Group," said Vella, CEO of Altaro, ex- pressing both commitment to and excitement about the new venture. Likewise, the Altaro team will be retained and ex- panded, with various new hires planned. He explained that Altaro has received various prior invest- ment and acquisition offers but had always been careful about its next steps. "We have found exactly the right strategic buyer in Hornet- security and are delighted to become part of the group," he said. "e synergies between the two companies are obvi- ous. rough our combined know-how and experience, and the innovative combination of our product suites, Hornetse- curity's European market lead- ership 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 com- pliance solution for their cloud technologies. By integrating Altaro's backup solutions into Hornetsecurity's product port- folio, we can provide a com- prehensive package to protect customers data." Explaining that the company will continue investing in the entire Altaro team while also employing new recruits, Hoff- man revealed: "We will expand the company's current interna- tional locations in the coming years to provide our partners with new products and solu- tions even faster." Listing some of Hornet secu- rity's reasons for this invest- ment, 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. e acquisition will also strength- en our international marketing and sales, which will further boost growth of the entire Hor- netsecurity Group." From left: David Vella, Julian Pace Ross, Simon Attard and Stephen Chetcuti Bonavita founded Altaro in 2009 Maltese company, Altaro Software, acquired by Europe's leading email cloud security provider Care home operators launch vaccination campaign A number of care home opera- tors within the Malta Chamber of Commerce, Enterprise and Industry have launched a cam- paign, entitled 'Be Wise & Im- munise!', encouraging residents to get vaccinated against COV- ID-19. Over the past 10 months, these operators have been working round the clock to keep residents in their homes safe, with the elderly having to face a full lockdown, restricted movement under a partial lock- down and - now - confinement to their rooms. "One would think that these measures would have kept them safe," the care home operators wrote on the Chamber's web- site. "Yet, other ailments such as diabetes, hypertension, stroke and heart failure, for which hospital treatment is necessary, puts older persons at a bigger risk. As long as the number of positive cases within the com- munity continue to increase, there is a greater chance for these vulnerable to come into contact with the virus." e campaign aims to better educate residents, their relatives and the public on COVID-19. A number of experts in the field have been engaged to explain the vaccination process, myths and facts, as well as reasons for getting immunised. "Let us look at the number of people who have succumbed to the virus and our loved ones, whom we could easily lose. Old- er persons need to be given the vaccine sooner rather than lat- er," the operators said. ree posters, complete with QR codes for more information, have been produced by the Care Home Operators Section to ac- company the campaign. Each poster features a message: 'To save a life', 'To protect the vul- nerable' and to give 'More time' to the people "who have sacri- ficed so much for us time and time again". e Care Home Operators business section committee is made up of Natalie Briffa Far- rugia, CareMalta Group (chair- person), Dr Sarah Cassar, Casa Antonia (deputy chairperson), Dr Marie Eleanor Farrugia (Prime Care), Angelle Falzon (Caring First Ltd), Charmaine Attard (AX Care) and Fleur Balzan (Age Concern Company Ltd). More information is available at www.maltachamber.org.mt/ en/be-wise-immunise