Avecto

About Avecto

Avecto, a software company headquartered in Manchester, UK, was established in 2008 by co-founders Mark Austin and Paul Kenyon. Prior to launching the company, both founders had accumulated significant experience in the technology sector, with Kenyon having worked at the network and security solutions provider Articon-Integralis and Austin also possessing a strong technical background. Their journey began with the goal of providing privilege management and application control solutions, a focus that remained central to their operations.

The firm's core business centered on developing and marketing security software designed to manage user privileges on computer systems. Its flagship product, Defendpoint, operated on a 'least privilege' principle, a security concept that involves providing users with only the access levels essential to perform their job functions. This approach aimed to mitigate the risk of security breaches by preventing unauthorized actions and the execution of malicious software. The software allowed IT administrators to grant specific privileges for individual applications without giving the user full administrative rights to the entire system. This granular control was a key feature, enabling employees to carry out their tasks while containing potential security threats within the network. Avecto's business model was based on selling software licenses to enterprise clients across various sectors, including financial services, healthcare, and government, who required robust endpoint security solutions.

Avecto demonstrated consistent growth throughout its history, expanding its international presence with offices in Boston, USA, and Melbourne, Australia. A significant milestone in the company's trajectory occurred in July 2018, when it was acquired by the US-based cybersecurity firm Bomgar for an undisclosed sum. Following the acquisition, the combined entity was rebranded as BeyondTrust. This strategic move integrated Avecto's endpoint privilege management capabilities into Bomgar's broader portfolio of privileged access management (PAM) solutions, creating a more comprehensive offering for the market.