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Absolute Software Corporation
Company typePublic
TSX: ABT
Nasdaq: ABST
IndustryComputer software
Founded1993
HeadquartersVancouver, British Columbia, Canada,


Austin,United States
Key people
Christy Wyatt (CEO), Sean Maxwell (CCO)
ProductsAbsolute

Absolute Software Corporation (commonly known as Absolute) is an American-Canadian company that specializes in endpoint security and data risk management. The company is headquartered in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada and Austin, Texas, with regional offices in Reading, UK; and Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. Absolute is a publicly traded company on the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX).[1]

History

Founded in 1993 in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, Absolute's primary goal was to create a product that would enable individuals and businesses to manage, track and secure computers regardless of the physical location of the device.

In 2000, Absolute became a publicly traded company on the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX).

In 2005, Persistence technology by Absolute was embedded for the first time into the firmware or BIOS of a computer. This was the start of an ongoing partnership with most major original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) where Absolute technology ships with the hardware from the factory.

Absolute's regional presence in Europe was first established in November 2006, with an office in Newbury, UK, to expand Absolute's international operations.[2] In July 2009, a second regional office was opened in Austin, Texas, to serve as a base for Absolute's U.S.-based sales team.[3] In September 2012, a third regional office was opened in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.[4]

In 2007, Absolute achieved Gold Certified Partner Status in the Microsoft Partner Program, a distinction provided by Microsoft to technology companies that have demonstrated expertise in Microsoft-based technologies.[5]

In December 2009, Absolute announced its acquisition of the LANrev product suite, a comprehensive computer systems management software application, from Pole Position Software.[6] Following the acquisition, the product suite was rebranded as Absolute Asset Management, and eventually renamed as Absolute Manage.

In November 2012, Absolute acquired the assets of LiveTime Software, a privately held helpdesk and IT Service Support Management (ITSSM) provider.[7] LiveTime assets were officially relaunched as part of Absolute's expanded product suite in January 2013 as Absolute Service, an IT Service Management (ITSM) tool. Absolute Service received PinkVERIFY ITIL 3 Certification from Pink Elephant.[8]

Absolute was identified as a Visionary Vendor in the Gartner Inc. Magic Quadrant for Client Management Tools from 2012 to 2014,[9] and was positioned in the Niche quadrants of the Magic Quadrant for Mobile Device Management Software and the Magic Quadrant for Content-Aware Data Loss Prevention in 2013.[10][11]

In June 2013, Absolute acquired Palisade Systems, a privately-held provider of data loss prevention (DLP) technologies.[12]

In October 2013, Absolute launched an integrated student and device protection initiative called Absolute Safe Schools, which educates students and staff of participating schools on the safe use of mobile devices and provides assistance in the event of device loss and theft.[13] Through this program, which operates in conjunction with Absolute endpoint security products, the Absolute Investigations team works with local law enforcement agencies to recover protected devices after a theft.[14]

In December 2013, John Livingston stepped down as Chief Executive Officer and as a member of the Board of Directors at Absolute.[15] Following this announcement, Daniel Ryan took on the role of Chairman of the Board, while Chief Financial Officer Errol Olsen served as interim CEO during the search for a successor. On June 13, 2014, Geoff Haydon was appointed Chief Executive Officer and Director of Absolute. Prior to Absolute, Geoff Haydon served as Chief Operating Officer of EMC Asia Pacific and Japan.[16][17] Former McAfee executive Christopher Bolin joined Absolute as Chief Product Officer on February 19, 2015, in order to develop Absolute's global product strategy.[18]

As part of a comprehensive rebranding strategy, Absolute changed its product nomenclature, renaming Computrace to Absolute Data and Device Security (DDS) in July 2015.[19]

On July 16, 2015, Absolute announced its intention to divest Absolute Manage and Absolute Service.[20] The sale of these products to HEAT Software was completed in October 2015 for an approximate gross total of USD$11.0 million.[21]

In January 2018, Geoff Haydon left Absolute and Steve Munford was appointed as interim Chief Executive Officer.[22]

On November 2, 2018, Christy Wyatt was appointed Chief Executive Officer and Director of Absolute.[23]

In January 2020, Absolute was listed by Forbes as one of the Top 10 Cybersecurity Companies to watch in 2020.[24]

Products and services

Absolute's flagship product is the Absolute Platform, formerly known as Data and Device Security (DDS). Absolute relies on patented Persistence technology, which is embedded into the firmware of most computers, tablets, and smartphones at the factory.[25]

The Persistence module is activated once the Absolute agent is installed. If the software client is removed from a device through flashing the firmware, replacing the hard drive, reimaging the device, or resetting the device back to factory settings, Persistence technology will trigger an automatic reinstallation of the software client.[25] Persistence technology is embedded in more than half a billion devices worldwide.[26]

Partnerships

Absolute has ongoing partnerships with many OEMs globally, who embed Persistence technology by Absolute into the firmware of their devices at the factory. Strategic partnerships include Dell, Lenovo, Hewlett-Packard, and Samsung.[26] Dell was one of Absolute's early customers before becoming a supplier for Absolute. President of Dell Canada Kevin Peesker noted that Dell has "been able to be there with them providing them scalable infrastructure" as Absolute has grown. This has allowed Absolute to "be very efficient in scaling out their business" from a Vancouver base on a global level.[25]

Absolute has also built a network of partnerships with resellers, distributors and in-country partners such as CDW, PCM, Insight and InTechnology.

Aligning with other technology companies, Absolute has worked closely with leading operating system providers and chipset manufacturers and has collaborated with recognized security companies to create complementary technologies and services.

Since 2007, Absolute has maintained its Gold Certified Partner Status in the Microsoft Partner Program.[5] Through this partnership, Absolute incorporated security reporting functionality for Microsoft System Center Configuration Manager (SCCM) into Absolute DDS, a feature that became available in mid-2015.[27]

In August 2015, Absolute joined the RSA Ready Technology Partnership program, run by the Security Division of EMC, creating interoperability between Absolute DDS and RSA Security Analytics, an advanced threat detection and forensics platform.[28]

Other alliance partnerships include Advanced Micro Devices (AMD), Qualcomm, Verizon, and Follett.

References

  1. ^ https://www.eweek.com/it-management/absolute-software-product-overview-and-analysis
  2. ^ "Absolute Software Establishes European Operations to Better Serve Growing International Customer Base" (Press release). Absolute. 22 November 2006. Retrieved 28 October 2015.
  3. ^ "Absolute Software Opens Austin Headquarters". Texas Tech Pulse. 13 July 2009. Retrieved 28 October 2015.
  4. ^ "Absolute Software Opens Office in Kuala Lumpur". Asia Pacific Foundation of Canada. 18 September 2012. Retrieved 28 October 2015.
  5. ^ a b "Absolute Software Attains Gold Certified Partner Status In Microsoft Partner Program" (Press release). Absolute. 23 October 2007. Retrieved 28 October 2015.
  6. ^ "Absolute Software Acquires LANrev product suite from Pole Position Software" (Press release). Absolute. 3 December 2009. Retrieved 28 October 2015.
  7. ^ Preimesberger, Chris (6 November 2012). "Absolute Software to Acquire LiveTime for IT Help Desk". eWeek. Retrieved 29 October 2015.
  8. ^ "PinkVERIFY™ 2011 Toolsets". Pink Elephant. Retrieved 29 October 2015.
  9. ^ Knox, Kevin; Cosgrove, Terrence (22 May 2014). "Magic Quadrant for Client Management Tools". Gartner, Inc. Retrieved 29 October 2015.
  10. ^ Redman, Phillip; et al. (22 May 2013). "Magic Quadrant for Mobile Device Management Software". Gartner, Inc. Retrieved 29 October 2015.
  11. ^ Ouellet, Eric (12 December 2013). "Magic Quadrant for Content-Aware Data Loss Prevention". Gartner, Inc. Retrieved 29 October 2015.
  12. ^ Preimesberger, Chris (25 June 2013). "Absolute Software Buys Palisade, Bolsters Device Security App". eWeek. Retrieved 29 October 2015.
  13. ^ "The Absolute Safe Schools Program". Software Magazine. February 2014. Retrieved 29 October 2015.
  14. ^ "Absolute Software First to Market with Absolute Safe Schools" (Press release). Absolute. 8 October 2013. Retrieved 29 October 2015.
  15. ^ Bennet, Nelson (10 December 2013). "Absolute Software CEO retiring, plans to become startup mentor". Business in Vancouver. Retrieved 29 October 2015.
  16. ^ Musanelli, Michael (16 June 2014). "Geoff Haydon Steps in as Absolute Software CEO". The VAR Guy. Retrieved 29 October 2015.
  17. ^ Dixon, Guy (2 March 2015). "Security software firm's key to success: an open-door workplace". The Globe and Mail. Retrieved 29 October 2015.
  18. ^ Crawford Hampel, Emma (2 February 2015). "Former McAfee exec joins Absolute Software". Business in Vancouver. Retrieved 29 October 2015.
  19. ^ Cox, Mark (10 August 2015). "Absolute drops Software from name, Computrace from branding". ChannelBuzz. Retrieved 29 October 2015.
  20. ^ Waddell, Nick (18 July 2015). "Absolute Software selloff is overdone, says Haywood". Cantech Letter. Archived from the original on 26 October 2015. Retrieved 29 October 2015.
  21. ^ "Absolute Completes Sale of Absolute Manage and Absolute Service" (Press release). Absolute. 5 October 2015. Retrieved 29 October 2015.
  22. ^ https://www.absolute.com/en/about/pressroom/press-releases/2018/absolute-names-steve-munford-as-interim-ceo-and-announces-preliminary-second-quarter-financial-results
  23. ^ https://quotes.wsj.com/CA/XTSE/ABT/company-people/executive-profile/116963699
  24. ^ Columbus, Louis. "Top 10 Cybersecurity Companies To Watch In 2020". Forbes. Retrieved 2020-03-18.
  25. ^ a b c Shaw, Gillian (27 August 2015). "Absolute Software's edge is 'persistence' technology". Vancouver Sun. Retrieved 29 October 2015.
  26. ^ a b "Spotlight on Absolute Software". BCTIA. 7 April 2015. Archived from the original on 27 June 2015. Retrieved 29 October 2015.
  27. ^ Gold, Jon (17 August 2015). "Absolute Data and Device Security adds Microsoft SCCM and SIEM integration". NetworkWorld. Retrieved 29 October 2015.
  28. ^ "Absolute Collaborates with RSA to Offer Enhanced Endpoint Data Collection & Remediation" (Press release). Absolute. 13 August 2015.
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