SecurePipe Raises New Round of Venture Financing

FirstAnalysis Corporation, Prism Opportunity Fund and Argentum Group Invest in SecurePipe

Chicago, IL (PRWEB) March 4, 2004 --- SecurePipe, Inc., a leader in delivering 24x7 managed network security services to distributed enterprises, today announced it has closed a $3.2 million round of funding from First Analysis, Prism Opportunity Fund and Argentum Group. The proceeds of the financing will be used to expand sales and marketing, business development, partner recruitment and customer service.

An established leader in the managed security space, SecurePipe delivers the most comprehensive suite of 24X7 managed network security services to distributed enterprises and financial institutions. These offerings include managed firewall, intrusion detection system (IDS), virtual private networking (VPN), e-mail relay services, (virus scanning and SPAM identification), firewall authentication for intranet services and remote vulnerability scan and assessments. No other MSSP offers a comparable breadth of services at such an affordable price.

"We have always believed and the market is clearly validating that SecurePipe's unique approach is ideally suited for distributed enterprises. We are pleased to provide the capital needed for our experienced team to capitalize on this approach and execute an aggressive growth plan," said Howard Smith, managing director with First Analysis and SecurePipe board member.

The Prism Opportunity Funds participation in each of SecurePipes institutional rounds reflects our confidence in the very strong senior management team, the value of the SecurePipes managed security service offerings and the attractiveness of the market opportunity," said Ted Feierstein, a general partner at Prism Opportunity Fund and SecurePipe board member.

Walter Barandiaran, general partner of Argentum Group, said, "We are extremely pleased to be a part of SecurePipe's emerging success story. Targeting small to mid-sized banks and businesses, SecurePipe is enjoying excellent customer acquisition and retention rates by offering a high level of security to mission critical operations, at an affordable price."

The demand for managed network security is growing dramatically as evidenced by a 160% growth in our business last year," said Art Roldan, SecurePipe CEO. This capital will allow us to continue our rapid growth," Roldan added. SecurePipe has become a recognized leader within the community bank sector," said Roldan. And we are witnessing the need for our service across many other verticals.

About SecurePipe, Inc.
SecurePipe, Inc, founded in 1996, delivers the most comprehensive suite of 24X7 managed network security services to financial institutions and distributed enterprises. These offerings include managed firewall, intrusion detection system (IDS), virtual private networking (VPN), e-mail relay services (virus scanning and SPAM identification), firewall authentication for intranet services and remote vulnerability scan and assessments. No other MSSP offers a comparable breadth of services at such an affordableprice.

About First Analysis Corporation
First Analysis is a leading private equity and venture capital investor. Having invested $500 million since 1985 in more than 150 companies, we have established one of the industrys longest track records. First Analysis invests throughout the U.S. as well as in select other countries with a focus on three sectors: outsourced sources, information technology and chemistry-enabled businesses, providing expansion and growth capital to companies with proven business models and demonstrable customer successes.

About Prism Opportunity Fund
Prism is a private equity fund headquartered in Chicago, Illinois with offices in Seattle, WA, Englewood, NJ and Milwaukee, WI. Prism has a hybrid investment philopshy, meaning that it invests in both early stage information technology companies as well as traditional manufacturing and services businesses with opportunities for growth, whether internal or through acquisition. The common denominator in all Prisms investments is a driven entrepreneurial management team coupled with a market-proven product, technology or service.

About the Argentum Group
The Argentum Group is a New York-based venture capital firm dedicated to assisting outstanding entrepreneurs build industry-leading companies. We serve as a general partner of four investment partnerships with total capital under management in excess of $390 million. We emphasize the concept of partnership investing - developing strong partnerships with the management teams of portfolio companies and assuming equal responsibility for building equity value. Since our founding in 1988, we have invested in over 100 companies in a broad range of market sectors. We seek to invest in those industries experiencing rapid growth or undergoing fundamental change. We make early stage investments starting at $1 million to later stage investments of up to $10 million. A typical first round investment is $3-5 million.