NextStage Capital Invests in Pittsburgh PA based Cipher Optics

AUDUBON, PA – November 12, 2010 – NextStage Capital recently completed a $500,000 investment into Pittsburgh-based Cipher Optics, (www.cipheroptics.com). Cipher Optics is a leader in scalable security solutions for high performance networks. Other investors include Adams Capital Management.

Cipher Optics sells an innovative data security policy and key management solution, which, along with its encryption appliances, can secure any network without changing the underlying infrastructure or negatively affecting application performance. Its solutions are quick to install, easy to manage, and offer the highest level of data protection and cost performance. The Cipher product set is currently installed across more than 200 customers in 32 different countries.

Cipher is led by Tom Gill, who joined the company as CEO in mid-2009. Since becoming CEO, Tom has consistently and methodically grown revenue and margin, and has decreased operating expenses. Among Tom’s prior successes, he was CEO of Fore Systems and presided over its significant growth and eventual sale to GEC/Marconi PLC.

Cipher Optics’ products address a market that is growing substantially due to the explosion of data being transmitted over networks. Parallel to this growth in data is also the number of security breaches that are occurring. Further, the rise of cloud-based computing is stimulating demand for end-to-end encryption of public networks. Other aspects fueling growth in demand for Cipher products include ever-increasing national security concerns (worldwide) and the increased governmental regulation of data-in-motion, not to mention the growing sophistication of data thieves. Cipher sells its solution primarily into markets vertically aligned with finance, government (international, federal, local and military branches) and utilities.