Assurance Software Acquires U.K.-Based ClearView

Craig Potts

Business continuity solution provider and software developer Assurance Software on Wednesday said it has acquired U.K.-based ClearView in a bid to become a global provider of business continuity services.

Assurance Software, which in May was carved out of Sungard AS as a stand-alone business continuity provider, acquired ClearView for an undisclosed sum.

Assurance Software, which this week is moving its headquarters to Audubon, Pa. as one of its last acts to completely separate itself from Sungard AS, has since May had to develop its own finance organization, hire its own CEO and chief financial officer, and develop its own sales organization, said Craig Potts, the company's CEO.

[Related: Assurance Software Carved Out From Sungard AS As Standalone Business Continuity Provider]

"It's been eight months since the carve-out," Potts told CRN. "And we're already acquiring."

Potts said that, with the deal, Assurance Software becomes the world's largest global provider of business continuity solutions.

Assurance Software's primary market is in North America, with a small business outside the area, Potts said. ClearView, on the other hand, has a solid market for business continuity services in the EMEA (Europe, Middle East, and Africa) and APAC (Asia-Pacific) regions where Assurance Software has less of a presence, Potts said.

With the approximately 120 customers ClearView brings, Assurance Software will have a base of 800 customers worldwide, he said.

Assurance Software provides business continuity services to its own customer base, while ClearView works with distribution partners in several countries around the world, Potts said.

The two companies also have similar technologies, with the products and their brand names of both expected to remain available to clients, said Scot McLeod, vice president of marketing for Assurance Software.

"This is important," McLeod told CRN. "There will be no forced march of customers from one platform to the other.”

This acquisition is also unique from a fiscal standpoint, McLeod said. "These are two companies that are actually profitable now," he said. "Our goal is not cost reduction. Our goal is growth and expansion."

Scot McLeod

The acquisition of ClearView was accomplished thanks to support from Resurgens Technology Partners, the equity firm that owns Assurance Software, Potts said. Funding for the acquisition also came from ClearView Founder and CEO Charles Boffin.

Going forward, Boffin will become president of Assurance Software for EMEA and APAC, as well as the company's global chief strategist, Potts said.