OREANDA-NEWS. Osirium, a UK based cyber-security software provider, today announces the Company's intention to seek admission to trading on AIM ("Admission") and raise at least £4 million net of expenses via a placing of its ordinary shares ("Placing"). Dealings are expected to commence on AIM in April 2016.

Osirium protects critical IT assets, infrastructures and devices by preventing targeted cyber-attacks from directly accessing Privileged Accounts, removing unnecessary access and powers of Privileged Account users, deterring legitimate Privileged Account users from abusing their roles and containing the effects of a breach if one does happen.

Osirium has defined and delivered PAM 2.0, which the Company's Directors view as the next generation Privileged Account management solution. The team has developed the concept of Virtual Air Gap to separate users from passwords, with Osirium's Privileged Task Management module further strengthening Privileged Account security and delivering impressive return on investment ("ROI") for customers.

The Company is seeking admission to AIM to raise funds to help accelerate the Group's growth in the thriving cyber-security market by appointing additional staff members, as required, to support the Group's sales and marketing strategy, investing in the continued research and development of its software modules and providing additional working capital for what the Directors believe will be a phase of rapid growth.

Panmure Gordon (UK) Limited is acting as Financial Adviser, Nominated Adviser and Broker to the Company.

Key Strengths

Experienced management team with a proven track record

Osirium's operational management team, led by the Company's Chief Executive Officer David Guyatt, has almost 100 years' collective experience of the IT security software industry, including over 20 years working in cyber-security. During this period, David with various members of the senior management team successfully built up Integralis and Content Technologies, the company behind the MIMEsweeper email security and content filtering software solution. Content Technologies was sold to Baltimore Technologies in 2000 for a total consideration of almost $1 billion. The team has been working together at Osirium since 2010.


Proven revenue model, blue chip customer base and long-term relationships

Osirium has a proven recurring revenue model and a customer base which includes blue chip enterprises, managed security service providers ("MSSPs"), large multinational organisations and government bodies. Many have been customers for several years, demonstrating the proven capabilities of Osirium's solution and presenting opportunities for what the Directors believe could be significant further organic revenue growth.

Significant market opportunity

The number of cyber-security incidents detected in 2015 increased by 38 per cent. compared with 2014, according to PwC's 'Global State of Information Security Survey 2016'. The targeting of Privileged Accounts has been cited as the most difficult stage of a cyber-attack to mitigate against. Consequently, the misuse of Privileged Accounts is recognised as one of the most critical cyber-security challenges.

As organisations benefit from new digital connections, tools and platforms, the threat of cyber-attacks increases and the consequential damage to corporate reputations and erosion of public confidence are key drivers in the growth of worldwide spending on cyber-security. Another key driver is the requirement for organisations to adhere to increasing levels of cyber-security legislation, international standards and best practice. According to Gartner, worldwide cyber-security spending reached $76.9 billion in 2015 and is set to grow to $93.0 billion by 2017.

The Directors believe that there is a significant opportunity for the Group to take advantage of the thriving cyber-security market to establish a leading position in the Privileged Account security management software vertical. The extent of this opportunity is supported by the size and growth of some of the Group's larger competitors, which includes a public quoted company with a market capitalisation of in excess of $1 billion.

Differentiated software solution providing a competitive advantage

The Directors believe that Osirium's software offers major competitive advantages which include its ease of deployment, the ROI generated from its automation capabilities and the flexibility of its product architecture ensuring that customer requirements can be quickly implemented.

The ease of use and speed of deployment means that the software can be installed and operational within hours. The software's 'out of the box' functionality means that the provision of extensive consultancy services is not necessary for a successful installation. Once deployed, a customer's internal IT resources can deal with any ongoing maintenance requirements without the necessity for further Osirium support.

The software's ability to automate repeatable tasks and securely delegate or outsource tasks to third party service providers, help-desk staff or untrained junior staff removes the risk of human error and frees up the time of more expensive resource to focus on more important IT issues. This helps customers drive down operational costs, achieving impressive ROIs at the same time as reducing business risk.

The Group has a team of experienced software developers that focus on the ongoing development and frequent delivery of new features and functionality in response to customer feedback and requests. In this respect, Osirium's adaptability and flexibility enables the product to maintain its competitive advantage, which in turn results in low customer churn rates demonstrated by a contract renewal rate of over 90 per cent.

In February 2016, as a means of marketing the differentiating factors of its offering compared with competitor products, Osirium launched its PAM 2.0 brand, which will feature heavily in the Group's marketing campaigns going forward.

Significant Barriers to Entry

The Directors believe that the barriers to entry preventing new participants entering the Privileged Account management vertical of the cyber-security market, thereby reinforcing Osirium's competitive position, include the following:

· Osirium's operational management team has almost 100 years' collective experience of the IT security software industry, including over 20 years working in cyber-security. As a consequence, the knowledge, track record and relationships that they have established provides a significant barrier to entry to new entrants;

· The three patent applications pending. Subject to grant, the Directors believe that these patents will force potential entrants to invest time and money in the development of markedly different software solutions;

· Osirium's geographical location and experience of working with UK based customers, providing credibility to the Group's core UK cyber-security market focus; and

· Osirium has a proven, and what the Directors believe to be a unique, task automation software solution.

David Guyatt, Chief Executive Officer, commented:
"Our team has demonstrated that it can innovate and deliver technology that improves the security of businesses in this cyber-age. We are also fortunate to have the confidence, commitment and support of our growing customer base. The IPO will enhance the credibility and profile of Osirium which will help attract new customers and enable us to retain and recruit high quality employees. We are excited about the opportunity in front of us to capitalise on the growth dynamics of this vibrant market and establish Osirium as a recognised leader in our field."