CyberOne to Spin Off from CriticalStart, Become Independent VAR

CyberOne, the security advisory and solutions VAR, plans to spin off from CriticalStart and forge ahead as an independent company.

The spinoff will strengthen CyberOne’s market positioning and awareness. The VAR will build out its strategic team and expand vendor relationships across North America.

CyberOne should complete the spinoff during the first quarter of 2021.

With well over $100 million in revenue, CyberOne has operated as an autonomous VAR business under the CriticalStart brand since 2012. With the spin off from CriticalStart, CyberOne says it can better serve its customers and partners nationally. CyberOne’s security solutions will consist of consulting and professional services. That includes red team services from specialized group TeamAres.

Tera Davis is CyberOne’s managing director.

CyberOne’s Tera Davis

“Critical Start, a vendor, and CyberOne, a VAR, now function in two fundamentally different ways,” she said. “To neutralize potential conflict with CriticalStart’s managed detection and response (MDR) resellers, the CyberOne business unit chose not to expand outside of the Texas-Oklahoma-Louisiana-Arkansas (TOLA) market [prior to the spinoff]. Deconsolidation of the two business units will allow for geographic expansion for CyberOne by alleviating market confusion and potential channel conflict.”

CyberOne’s Basic Principles

CyberOne has three basic principles, Davis said. Those are: Listen to your customers, align their security needs to their unique business strategy and “execute flawlessly,” Davis said.

“Advocacy obsession is in our DNA, and it’s represented in every aspect of our culture, a culture that has given us tremendous brand equity and trust within our customer base,” she said. “Along with our vendor partners, we’ll be carrying that mission forward into new geographies to create fantastic opportunities for growth. Our vendor partners have been asking for this expansion for quite some time. We will lean on our partners to align with us as we move into other geographies.”

The competitive advantage will come with CyberOne’s expansion, Davis said.

“We are a well-established and trusted brand in TOLA, and we look forward to making that true in other parts of the country,” she said. “We look forward to expanding relationships with our strategic vendors as well.”

Ric Hughey is CyberOne’s president.

“Cybersecurity needs of our customers are always evolving, so the ability to work with customers and vendors beyond the TOLA region is the natural next step,” he said.