The acquisition will see the Austin, Texas-based firm – formed in 1999 – extend into the threat monitoring market, with a new automated security software product: SolarWinds Threat Monitor, which offers threat hunting and incident response as well as security reports as a compact, integrated system.

The monitoring system can detect cyber threats by bringing together detection of host and network intrusion, security events and asset data, before correlating it with real-time threat intelligence.

>See also: 6 critical steps for responding to a cyber attack

CEO of SolarWinds Kevin Thompson says that the acquisition of Trusted Metrics will allow the company to offer customers a “powerful, easy to use, scalable” threat monitoring platform.

“For nearly 20 years, SolarWinds has focused on helping to address our customers’ everyday IT management challenges—working to make sure that our products are designed to be powerful, yet easy to use, and work the way that technology professionals need them to work,” Thompson said.

“Because we serve such a wide range of technology professionals, we understand the unique challenge that security presents—whether an organisation is managing its IT infrastructure directly or working with a managed service provider (MSP).”

“When we look at the rapidly changing IT security landscape, the proliferation of mass-marketed malware and the non-discriminatory approach of cybercriminals, we believe that real-time threat monitoring and management shouldn’t be a luxury, but an affordable option for everyone.”

MSSP Trusted Metrics, based in North Carolina, was formed in 2010 as an outsourced Security Operations Centre (SOC), and its CEO Michael Menefee said that the company “is pleased to join the SolarWinds family”.

>See also: 6 things to look for in a Managed Security Services Provider

Menefee went on to explain its security product, stating: “We built a solution that’s designed to help companies of all sizes to improve their ability to uncover incoming attacks and quickly detect breaches by correlating customers’ network data with continuously refreshed threat intelligence—helping them make better and faster incident-response decisions.”

“SolarWinds’ reach and tech industry know-how make them a perfect fit for getting this solution into the hands of more and more technology professionals.”

A recent study by Capgemini found that the gap between demand of cyber security skills and amount of staff with proficient skills related with dealing with cyber threats is growing in the wake of Brexit; 68% of participating organisations declared that there was a high demand for cyber skills, whereas only 43% said that their cybersecurity staff was proficient.