Plans to double staff numbers, move offices and expand UK partner portfolio

Independent global data security specialist, HANDD Business Solutions (HANDD) has announced plans to double its workforce over the next 12-24 months and ramp up operations in the UK in response to growing demand by customers for integrated data security solutions and expertise. Driven by changes in compliance and data privacy regulations, including the EU GDPR, the company plans to invest 20 per cent of revenue in recruiting up to 25 new data security engineers and specialists. HANDD will also move to new premises in the centre of Reading this year in order to attract fresh talent and provide better access to financial services customers based in the City.

As part of its expansion plans, HANDD is currently evaluating and recruiting new market-leading security vendors to further expand its data security portfolio, which covers data classification, managed file transfer, identity and access management (IAM), data loss prevention, data governance and user and entity behaviour analytics (UEBA). The company is researching Cloud Access Security Brokers (CASBs), the IAM market and UEBA technologies to help tackle the rising challenge of insider threats, and plans to bring on board several more partners in these areas this year.

HANDD experienced 65% growth last year and delivered projects in 25 countries, many for organisations within highly regulated sectors such as banking and insurance, as well as manufacturing, retail, energy and utilities. With more than 500 clients, including KPMG, Nissan, the London Stock Exchange and some of the world’s leading banks, the company runs operations in the UK and has an office in Malaysia.

“This is a big year for us,” comments HANDD CEO and Co-Founder Ian Davin. “In a year’s time, our business will look and feel very different, with a larger team of data security engineers and experts, together with a diversified portfolio of best of breed security solutions to meet customers’ individual and often complex needs.

“The market is growing incredibly fast and customers are having to cope with changing compliance and regulation demands, like PCI-DSS and GDPR, as well as juggle the need to keep up with a growing number of security incidents with a shortage of security skills in-house. To help meet this demand, we need to attract the best talent from the industry, but also lure superstars from other companies looking for a challenging environment and an opportunity to work on delivering global data security and compliance projects to world-class customers.”

HANDD’s CEO, who plans to double the number of customer engagements this year to meet clients’ data security and compliance needs, adds: “Companies are struggling to manage a myriad of data security issues, from classifying the data to knowing where it resides in the cloud – and then applying the appropriate security and governance measures. By partnering with the right vendors and employing the best talent in a fiercely competitive market, we can help guide them through this process.”