HelpSystems
HelpSystems, LLC is an American information technology and software company based in Eden Prairie, Minnesota, working in the areas of systems and network management, business intelligence, security and compliance, for IBM i, Unix, Linux and Windows environments.  The company is recognized as the biggest independent IBM i software vendor in the world.

The company is owned by private equity firms HGGC, TA Associates, Charlesbank Capital Partners, and Harvest Partners.

History

1982-2010
HelpSystems, originally known as Help/38, was founded in 1982 by Dick Jacobson.  An engineer with Advanced Circuits (AC) in Minnetonka, MN, Jacobson had written a program called Robot/38, used to provide IT automation for the IBM System/38.  The program was originally designed to offset the computer costs for AC. In 1988, when IBM replaced the System/38 with the AS/400, the company became known as Help/Systems.  The company was spun off in the late 80’s after AC was sold to Honeywell.

In 1991, in response to IBM's introduction of the AS/400 three years earlier, HelpSystems introduced Robot/CONSOLE, Robot/ALERT and Robot/NETWORK, a suite of tools for message management and escalation for the AS/400.

In 1992, HelpSystems became the first software company in the United States to be certified under the ISO 9001 standard.

In 2005, HelpSystems was bought by Boston-based investment firm Summit Partners.

In October 2006, HelpSystems acquired Advanced Systems Concepts (ASC), the developer of SEQUEL reporting and business intelligence tools for the i5/OS and OS/400 platform.  HelpSystems created the SEQUEL Software division to support the product.

In August 2007, the company announced the Robot/SECURITY suite of products, supporting IBM's i5/OS systems.  In September 2007, HelpSystems was acquired by the Boston-based private equity firm Audax Group.

In January 2008, HelpSystems expanded their International presence in Europe, Australia and New Zealand, by purchasing one of their partners and product distributors, eveLogic Group of England.  In August 2008, HelpSystems bought OS/400 and IBM i security and compliance software vendor PowerTech, to complement Robot/SECURITY, and the products were eventually combined under the PowerTech name.  In October 2008, they followed up by purchasing Bytware, a provider of the StandGuard brand of security, management and anti-virus tools for IBM devices.

In 2010, Robot/SCHEDULE Enterprise evolved and led to the launch of Skybot Scheduler, which was turned into a separate division.  In May 2011, Skybot Software expanded their customer base by acquiring Fleet, UK-based Open Systems Management, a creator of job scheduling and IT process automation tools for Windows, Unix, and Linux platforms.

2011-present
In June 2011, HelpSystems bought the DataThread DB2/400 monitoring product from Innovatum, and it became part of the PowerTech line.

In April 2012, Summit Partners bought back a majority stake in HelpSystems.  In June 2012, HelpSystems purchased UK-based Safestone, a security and compliance software developer for the IBM i. In October 2012, HelpSystems bought Gillingham, UK-based CCSS, the developer of QSystem Monitor, QMessage Monitor and QRemote Control systems monitoring and performance management tools for the IBM i server.

In January 2013, HelpSystems announced the acquisition of New Hampshire-based Dartware and their network management product, InterMapper, one of the first network mapping tools ever created.  In April 2013, HelpSystems acquired IBM's ShowCase business intelligence products, and added the software to its SEQUEL Software division.

In April 2014, the company acquired Los Angeles-based Network Automation, the developer of the AutoMate  line of workflow mapping and automation software.  At the same time the company announced its Robot/NETWORK Web user interface, which allowed users to see IBM i server performance information from a mobile phone or any device with a Web browser.  In July 2014, HelpSystems acquired Minneapolis-based document management software company RJS Software, and the data warehousing product from Australia-based Coglin Mill.  Coglin Mill's data warehouse product RODIN was added to the SEQUEL product line.  After this acquisition, the company was acknowledged by New York-based IT publisher IT Jungle as the biggest independent IBM i vendor in the world.

In January 2015, HelpSystems bought Peterborough, England-based Halcyon, a developer of software for multi-platform systems management, and announced its intention to operate Halcyon as an independent company for the time being. In June, HelpSystems bought IBM i security vendor SkyView Partners, a deal which included SkyView's team of security experts. In 2017 this team expanded its service to help customers with AIX and Linux platforms too. In August, it was announced that the company was being acquired by Florida-based private equity firm H.I.G. Capital, for an undisclosed amount.

In February 2016, HelpSystems acquired Tango/04 Computing Group, a software company specialized on monitoring, with HQ in Barcelona (Spain) and offices in Buenos Aires (Argentina). In June, HelpSystems acquired Linoma Software. Linoma Software is well known for its products that enable organizations to transfer files in an automated and secure way. It also has software that secures data at rest with strong encryption. Its products include GoAnywhere managed file transfer, the RPG Toolbox free format converter, Crypto Complete and Surveyor/400. In October, HelpSystems brought to market a high availability solution for IBM i users. In December, HelpSystems acquired TeamQuest to help more customers with IT capacity planning.

In May 2017, HelpSystems released a new software product called Access Authenticator – a multi-factor authentication solution for IBM i users. In July, HelpSystems released its free network monitoring software Intermapper. In August, HelpSystems announced a stronger partnership with IBM. It involves accelerating enhancements and marketing for IBM i products including Backup, Recovery and Media Services (BRMS) on i, PowerHA SystemMirror for I, and Rational Developer for i. HelpSystems will also enhance the development of Rational Developer for AIX and Linux (RDAL). In December, HelpSystems acquired Fox Technologies to help organizations tighten security by centralizing Linux and Unix identity and access management.

In April 2018, private equity firm HGGC became the lead investor in HelpSystems. In August, HelpSystems acquired Midrange Performance Group (MPG) to expand its capacity management portfolio for IBM i. In November, HelpSystems acquired MVP Software Systems and its JAMS enterprise workload automation solution.

In February 2019, HelpSystems acquired SecureAuth's Core Security products to expand its cybersecurity portfolio. In October, TA Associates and Charlesbank Capital Partners signed a definitive agreement to become additional investors. The firms joined existing investors, HGGC.  In December, HelpSystems acquired UK-based information security company Clearswift to expand its cybersecurity portfolio.

In June 2020, HelpSystems acquired data classification companies Canada-based Titus and UK-based Boldon James. In December, the company acquired VERA, a cloud based data protection solution provider, to strengthen its data security portfolio.

In January 2021, HelpSystems acquired FileCatalyst, a provider of enterprise file transfer acceleration services to expand its data security and automation portfolio. In February, the company acquired vulnerability management and threat assessment provider Digital Defense to expand its cybersecurity portfolio. In May, private equity firm Harvest Partners SCF LP joined existing investors to support HelpSystems’ ongoing growth. Also in May, the company acquired vulnerability assessment and management provider Beyond Security to continue expansion of its cybersecurity portfolio. Shortly thereafter, HelpSystems acquired Agari, a provider of enterprise solutions that protect against advanced email threats, to expand its data security portfolio.

In October 2021, HelpSystems acquired PhishLabs, a cyber threat intelligence company, to continue the expansion of its cybersecurity portfolio. Later that month, HelpSystems further strengthened its security portfolio with the acquisition of Digital Guardian, a provider of data loss prevention software.

Products

Cobalt Strike 
Cobalt Strike is a penetration testing tool used to simulate network attacks and test network defences in order to detect vulnerabilities.

The tool has been criticised due to its use by cybercriminals, with the tool used to deploy ransomware, surveil target computers and networks, and to download confidential data from target systems. Cybersecurity firm Recorded Future identified the tool as being used to control 13.5% of malicious command and control servers deployed in 2020. Cobalt Strike was discovered as being used by cybercrime group Wizard Spider to infect the Irish Health Service Executive systems, download medical data and employee records, and deploy the ransomware payload as part of the 2021 Health Service Executive cyberattack.

Offices
In addition to its Minneapolis headquarters, the company also has US offices in Chicago, IL, Clear Lake, IA, Lebanon, NH, Kent, WA, Foster City, CA, Los Angeles, CA, Roseville, CA, Raleigh, NC, Atlanta, GA, Unionville, CT, and Rochester, MN, and international offices in Sheffield and Fleet; UK, Barcelona, Spain; Yerevan, Armenia; Buenos Aires, Argentina; and Melbourne, Australia.

References

External links

Software companies based in Minnesota
Companies based in Eden Prairie, Minnesota
Software companies established in 1982
1982 establishments in Minnesota
Software companies of the United States