Accenture Invests in Cloud Data Security Provider Symmetry Systems

Accenture (NYSE: ACN) has made a strategic investment, through Accenture Ventures, in Symmetry Systems, a San Francisco-based provider of data store and object-level security (DSOS) solutions that give organizations visibility into, and unified access control of, their most valuable data assets.

Symmetry Systems applies machine learning to help companies better understand and protect their large fleets of data stores and applications. Its flagship solution, DataGuard, provides granular visibility across all data stores while integrating cleanly into modern security analytics platforms. It can provide security teams with auditing and compliance reports, security alerts for potentially malicious activity and breaches, and identity-and-access-management and security policies.

“Data no longer resides in physical data centers, as more and more organizations have moved their workloads and applications to the cloud,” said Rex Thexton, who leads Accenture Security’s applied cybersecurity services globally. “In this environment, businesses of all sizes continue to wrestle with how to keep themselves secure. Our strategic investment in Symmetry Systems will enhance Accenture’s ability to provide clients with a better way to see who is accessing what in their secure cloud environment.”

Mohit Tiwari, Symmetry Systems CEO and co-founder, said, “Today’s large organizations are custodians of millions of users’ most valued data, and our first priority is to help protect that at its source, giving organizations more granular control. Accenture’s investment will enable us to bring the best of our combined skills and capabilities to help clients keep their environments secure.”

Symmetry Systems is now a part of Accenture Ventures’ Project Spotlight, an engagement and investment program that connects emerging technology software startups with the Global 2000 to fill strategic innovation gaps. Project Spotlight offers extensive access to Accenture’s domain expertise and its enterprise clients, helping startups harness human creativity and deliver on the promise of their technology.

A recent report from Accenture found that as companies embrace multiple cloud environments, 65% of senior IT executives say that security risk and compliance is among their top three greatest barriers to achieving return on their cloud investments.

“Accenture Ventures’ investment in Symmetry Systems is consistent with our Cloud First strategy and the singular focus to help our clients across all industries make their cloud journey safe from the start,” said Tom Lounibos, managing director of Accenture Ventures. “Symmetry Systems’ differentiated solutions offer greater flexibility of both on-premise and cloud configurations providing better visibility into an organization’s entire cloud estate. This approach is even more critical to keeping data safe with the proliferation of edge devices and in today's work-from-anywhere world.”