Ionic Security Closes Nearly $9.5M Series A-1 Investment

ATLANTA, April 19, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Ionic Security Inc., delivering the first unified cloud and mobility security platform for the enterprise, today announced the close of $9.4m Series A-1 investment round. Led by Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers (KPCB), the round also included Atlanta-based TechOperators and increased participation by early investors such as famed security entrepreneurs Ken Levine and Dr. Paul Judge. The capital will be used to expand Ionic's engineering team, accelerate enterprise sales and increase awareness of its Fusion platform. Ionic Security also announced that Ted Schlein, general partner at KPCB, and Tom Noonan, partner at TechOperators, will join the board of directors.

"Enterprises want to take advantage of the reduced costs and increased usability of cloud and mobile applications, but hesitate due to security concerns," said Steve Abbott, Ionic Security CEO. "Our Fusion platform provides the security controls executives need to approve cloud migrations, especially in regulated environments. Customers see lower costs, higher employee satisfaction and increased security."

Founded in 2011, Ionic Security (formerly Social Fortress) combines identity and access management, data-centric policy enforcement and comprehensive usage auditing to provide enterprises with an unprecedented level of control of their data without the need for, or use of, gateways. Administrating Ionic Security's Fusion platform is done through simple dashboards, tablet-oriented UI and a powerful correlation and policy engine while end-users see no change to their workflows.

"Security needs to change with the times," said Ted Schlein, general partner of KPCB. "Enterprises have historically secured their data through network security, endpoint protections and central identity management offerings that are no match for the complex security challenges inherent in the combination of cloud services and the rise of bring-your-own-device policies. Ionic Security addresses this challenge head-on by providing enablement, not restriction and is poised to become standard in next-generation enterprise IT infrastructure."

Companies of different sizes are required to control and secure their data as well as their partners' data. Currently piloting its "Fusion" enterprise data security platform, Ionic Security has seen tremendous interest in its unified approach to data security and is working with progressive industry leaders in the financial services, healthcare, pharmaceutical, insurance, aerospace and federal markets in North America and Europe. 

"Ionic Security fits perfectly with TechOperators' focus: investing in great teams solving hard problems at the intersection of cloud, mobility and analytics," said Tom Noonan, former CEO of Internet Security Systems and partner at TechOperators. "The Fusion platform has the opportunity to massively disrupt the IT security market, as many incumbents continue to focus on outdated assumptions about enterprise infrastructures. Today's new reality requires new thinking about data security – and that's exactly what Ionic Security brings."

"Ted and Tom bring unparalleled experience to our board," said Adam Ghetti, Ionic Security founder, CTO and chairman. "Their advice and guidance will be invaluable as we scale quickly and broaden our reach to address the critical data security challenges facing enterprises today."

About Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers (KPCB)    
Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers (KPCB) has backed entrepreneurs in more than 700 ventures leading to nearly 200 IPOs, over 375,000 jobs and a deep strategic network. The firm has helped build pioneering companies like Align, Amazon, Electronic Arts, Genentech, Genomic Health, Google, Intuit, Juniper Networks, Netscape, Symantec, VeriSign and WebMD. KPCB partners serve on the boards of Amazon, Apple, Bloom Energy, Flipboard, Foundation Medicine, Google, Hewlett-Packard, Nest, Square, Tesaro and Zynga, among others. KPCB accelerates the success of entrepreneurs with a team of partners delivering company-building services including strategy, operational scaling, recruiting, business development, product delivery and marketing communications. The firm invests in all stages from seed and incubation to growth companies. KPCB operates from offices in Menlo Park, San Francisco, Shanghai and Beijing. http://www.kpcb.com

About TechOperators    
An early-stage venture capital firm, TechOperators was founded on the premise that proven operators make the best partners for technology entrepreneurs. Based in Atlanta, Georgia, the firm is led by an expert team of partners with decades of hard-fought operating success and experience founding, building and running world-class venture backed software companies. Extending beyond mentoring, TechOperators applies market-proven strategic and operational experience to drive growth during all stages of company building. TechOperators seeks entrepreneurs with bold innovative software solutions in cloud computing, cyber security, mobile computing, and marketing. For more information visit www.techoperators.com.  

About Ionic Security   
Ionic Security (formerly Social Fortress) enables the use of cloud services by protecting sensitive data anywhere it travels and wherever it resides, whether on the corporate network, in the cloud or on mobile devices. The first unified data security platform of its kind, Ionic Security takes a comprehensive approach to securing data in today's borderless enterprise by providing access control, intellectual property monitoring, data encryption and policy management, without proxies or gateways or changes in user behavior. The company is headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, and is backed by leading venture firms such as Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, TechOperators and ff VC as well as industry experts Christopher Klaus, Ken Levine, Phil Dunkelberger and Dr. Paul Judge. More information is located at www.ionicsecurity.com.

SOURCE Ionic Security Inc.