Singtel has revealed more clues about the future of it MSSP business unit, known as Trustwave. The latest anecdote calls for part of Trustwave's cybersecurity services business to tuck into Singtel's NCS business, the parent company disclosed in a statement.
The statement surfaces roughly two weeks after Singtel said it may sell off Trustwave while retaining some cybersecurity expertise from the MSSP business.
Singtel Places 5G and ICT Technology Bets
The bigger picture involves Singtel setting a "new strategic direction" to capture growth and unlock value, the company said on May 27, 2021. The strategy involves:
- 5G: Singtel will realign its core business to drive its quest for 5G market share in Singapore and Australia. The 5G push involves consumer and enterprise initiatives.
- NCS: Singtel is betting heavily on the NCS (formerly National Computer Systems) to make the information, communications and technology (ICT) service provider a "B2B digital services champion in Asia Pacific." NCS will set up two strategic business units to focus on the key sectors of government and telecoms. It is also setting its sights on expediting growth in the enterprise sector, particularly healthcare and transport, communications, technology and media and financial services, in the markets of Singapore, Australia and Greater China.
- Potentially Exiting Some Businesses: Singtel is "exploring options to leverage its infrastructure assets to unlock latent value and drive growth." The infrastructure assets including towers, satellites, subsea cables and data centers across the region. To wit, Singtel has already begun a partial sale via auction of Optus’ towers in Australia.
What Becomes Of Trustwave?
Singtel barely mentioned Trustwave in the strategic direction statement. Also, the statement did not mention Singtel's interest in Europe and North America. Trustwave's world headquarters are in Chicago, and EMEA (Europe, Middle East and Africa) headquarters are in London. The MSSP also has an Asia-Pacific headquarters in Singapore.
Read between the lines, and perhaps Singtel is striving to sell off those MSSP footprints in North America and Europe. Either way, Trustwave continues to invest in its business. Recent moves by the MSSP include hiring IBM and Secureworks veteran Spencer Ingram as senior VP of operations.
Spencer Ingram as its SVP of operations. Ingram is responsible for driving Trustwave’s strategy for customer experience and systems and processes that support its global business, according to a prepared statement.
Additional Trustwave executive appointments and updates include:
- Oriana Vogel as its chief human resources officer (CHRO);
- Marco Pereira as SVP of strategy and transformation; and
- Edwin Lim as GM of its Asia division.
MSSP Mergers and Acquisitions: Strong Activity
Meanwhile, investor demand for MSSP businesses appears strong. Recent buyers and investors in the MSSP market include Accenture, private equity firm Apax Partners, Atos and Wipro, among many others.
