Widespread Adoption of Data Integrity Solutions Fuels Increased Demand for Surety’s AbsoluteProof Digital Time-Stamp Service
RESTON, Va. – March 24, 2009 – Surety, LLC, the leading provider of data integrity solutions, today announced the company’s continued momentum with strong new customer growth in 2008, the opening of a regional office in Seoul, Korea, and the appointment of several new management team members. K.J. Shin, former President and CEO of DigiTreal Technology, has been appointed as President of Surety Korea, and Robert Flinton and Michael Castle join the management team as Vice President of Marketing and Product Management and Vice President of Sales and Business Development, respectively.
With a client roster that already includes global FORTUNE 500 corporations, Surety experienced 146 percent customer growth in 2008, its largest increase in 12 years. Surety is helping these mid-size and large enterprises across a variety of industries protect their intellectual property, mitigate risk associated with electronic records and prove the authenticity of electronic files in support of compliance and E-Discovery initiatives.
Additionally, Surety’s increased presence in Korea is expected to support additional growth in 2009, not only in Korea but across the Asia-Pacific region. Demand for digital timestamps and content authentication capabilities in Korea has grown significantly as organizations work to comply with a 2006 Korean regulation aimed at reducing the amount of paper used in the country and saving Korea’s limited natural resources. The regulation, called the Certified e-Document Authority (CeDA), sets out parameters for the protection of electronic records in order to promote the use of electronic documents and simplify business processes by going paperless. Using trusted time-stamping solutions such as Surety’s AbsoluteProof data integrity service, Korean organizations can prove that their electronic documents have not been altered or tampered at any point during their lifecycle, thus ensuring data authenticity and providing enhanced peace of mind.
In addition to its sales activity, Surety Korea will provide increased support for Korean customers as they strive to ensure the security and litigation-readiness of their electronic records while they migrate to paperless environments. In 2008, Surety announced partnerships with LG Computer Network Services (LG CNS) and Samsung Data Services (SDS) to integrate Surety's AbsoluteProof service into third-party electronic record management systems to seal and secure electronic documents sent to them by LG operating companies and Samsung subsidiaries, respectively. Through these partnerships, Surety works together with LG CNS and Samsung SDS to co-market, integrate and implement Surety’s AbsoluteProof to end users and CeDA providers in South Korea and to LG CNS and Samsung SDS affiliates worldwide.
“The Asia-Pacific region, particularly Korea, is one of Surety’s most important and strategic geographic markets, and one that holds incredible future potential for us,” said Tom Klaff, CEO of Surety, LLC. “Customers and strategic partners like Samsung SDS and LG CNS experience great success with Surety’s AbsoluteProof service, and the time is right to strengthen Surety’s presence in this rapidly expanding market.”
“The Korean market for trusted timestamps and paperless records under CeDA is experiencing explosive growth,” Shin explained. “The CeDA market alone is estimated at approximately $5 billion by 2013, and the global market for trusted timestamps is estimated to reach $200 million by 2011. By expanding operations to South Korea, Surety has the unique opportunity to establish itself as this region’s de facto leader in content authentication solutions.”
As the Korean office’s new president, Shin brings more than 20 years of professional experience in the IT industry to Surety, including experience in accounting, finance, marketing and planning, as well as developing new international businesses. Most recently, Shin served as President and CEO of DigiTreal Technology, a privately-held digital watermarking technology company based in South Korea. Previously, Shin worked for multinational companies such as Deliotte & Touche, Samsung SDS, SHL Systemhouse, AT&T, Triniti and Merant (Serena). Shin earned double Bachelor of Science degrees in Accounting and Management Information Systems from Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah, and an M.B.A. from Brigham Young’s Marriott School of Management.
In conjunction with its expansion, Surety has appointed Robert Flinton as Vice President of Marketing and Product Management and Michael Castle as Vice President of Sales and Business Development. Mr. Flinton brings more than 17 years experience in IT, network, and information security marketing and product management to Surety, where he is responsible for Surety’s strategic marketing and communications initiatives, as well as the company’s product portfolio. Prior to joining Surety, Flinton held senior marketing, product marketing and product management positions at netForensics, Novell, e-Security, Cybertrust, Symantec and Sterling Software.
As Vice President of Sales and Business Development, Michael Castle brings more than 20 years of experience in consumer software and hardware technology, online consumer services, Internet and broadcast media markets, publishing and enterprise experience, holding key positions at several start-ups. At Surety, Castle is responsible for Surety’s worldwide revenue generation efforts, as well as the day-to-day operations of the company’s sales, channel, and business development organizations. Prior to Surety, Mr. Castle had senior management positions in marketing and sales, M&A and investment projects, and business development at WebWare Corporation, Beatnik, Inc., The Thomson Corporation, Imagine Multimedia, and Commodore International Ltd.
