NeSBIC and Kennet Fund Software Firm

NeSBIC of the Netherlands joined forces with Kennet Capital, the UK-based specialist IT venture fund, to provide GBP1.7 million (ecu 2.4 million) of expansion capital to Consul Risk Management, a Dutch software developer.

Consul was established in 1991 and specialises in the development, implementation and support of a wide range of mainframe and open systems security policy management product. The company has a strong customer base for its mainframe security management and auditing solutions; users include ING, Electrabel, Barclays Bank, NatWest Bank, Zurich Insurance, Chase Manhattan Bank, IBM, Ford and AT&T.

Consul recently released its new Consul/Enterprise product, providing security monitoring solutions for Windows NT and open systems. Consul/Enterprise acts as a “security camera” for computer networks, allowing continuous monitoring of access and enabling users to comply with both legislative and auditing requirements. Another new product, Consul/One-Pass, allows user and password administration on open systems to be centralised, thus reducing costs and increasing security.

NeSBIC led the deal, investing from its Converging Technologies Europe Fund (story, page 10), and split the funding equally with Kennet Capital.