GBM acquires Coordinates Middle East

Gulf Business Machines (GBM) has announced the acquisition of Coordinates Middle East majority shares, a regional Managed Detection & Response firm headquartered in Dubai.

With this investment, GBM will enhance its suite of cybersecurity offerings to include Cor., Coordinates’ innovative technology-agnostic platform that enables integration, automation, and orchestration across detection, response, and remediation of any technology to achieve cyber resilience.

The innovation engine, platform, and disruptive approach to cyber defense will help organizations to address challenges faced with legacy Managed Security Services that are historically complex to deploy, challenging to adopt, slow to respond to events, and resource-heavy on enterprises. Through this acquisition, GBM will bring to market state-of-the-art technology further boosting its ability to anticipate, detect and respond to cyber threats.

The acquisition comes at a time when the cybersecurity market is undergoing significant shifts. Spending on security hardware, software and solutions is anticipated to grow rapidly in 2022 across the META region, according to IDC. With cybercrime becoming more sophisticated and common, it is imperative that organizations have resilient security strategies in place.

Founded in Dubai, UAE in 2015, Coordinates was built from the ground up as a disruptive, pure-play Managed Detection and Response firm. The company has served regional and local organizations across various industries including oil & gas, government, healthcare, and financial services.

Amr Refaat, Chief Executive Officer at GBM, said: “Our acquisition of Coordinates is a big step forward in strengthening our security services offering and skills to our customers and draws upon our legacy in the region of helping organizations enhance their cybersecurity capabilities. This is a significant milestone in the evolution of the Managed Detection & Response market, and I am confident that this will support our customers to further grow, innovate, and address the security challenges faced due to rapid evolution in technology.”

Tarek Ghoul, Founder and Chief Executive Officer at Coordinates Middle East, commented: “We are excited to be joining Gulf Business Machines, whose over three decades of presence in the region has been characterized by strong partnerships with leading technology companies and game changers who have brought breakthrough solutions to the market. The combination of GBM’s unparalleled depth, expertise, and reach in the region, along with Cor.’s adaptive, bespoke cyber defense technology will help us support enterprises of all sizes to defend against emerging cybersecurity threats.”