Ionic Security closes nearly $9.5M series A-1 investment

Ionic Security Inc., delivering the ‘first’ unified cloud and mobility security platform for the enterprise, has 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.”