Recently it was announced that CynergisTek, based in Austin, would acquire Backbone Consultants, operating out of Minneapolis. Backbone was founded by three former Big Four consulting leaders and last year generated over $3.5 million in revenues. The firm specializes in cybersecurity, IT audit & compliance, data privacy, and technical training services to healthcare and non-healthcare sector clients.

Caleb Barlow, CEO and president of CynergisTek commented on the acquisition, “Backbone Consultants’ suite of services will immediately complement our entire portfolio as well as provide additional IT risk audit services and GDPR readiness.” He further added, “We will look to leverage CynergisTek’s existing client base to cross-sell our services, leverage our back office to bring more efficiency and support to the Backbone team, and look to convert Backbone’s annual audits into a managed service.”

As more of the IT world transitions to managed services, the particular acquisition enables CynergisTek to expand into electronic prescriptions for controlled substances (EPCS) audit service, which validates systems and processes used for electronic prescriptions to meet DEA requirements. There is a strong recurring nature to these services given the ongoing opioid crises.

Over the summer, big pharma company Johnson and Johnson was ordered to pay $572 million by the State of Oklahoma for its role in the opioid crises. It was the first of thousands to go to trial.