SER&Practices

What SER&Practices does

SER&Practices (SER&P.) is an Italian limited liability company (S.r.l.) founded on December 12, 2006 as the first spin-off of the University of Bari Aldo Moro for industrial research revenue and results. The company operates from Bari, Italy, with 11-50 employees, and serves as a research-to-market conduit that transfers software engineering innovation from the University of Bari to Italian SMEs, large enterprises, and public administrations. It was the first Italian company certified for software quality based on ISO 25000 and the fourth in Europe to certify a software product.

The company's portfolio is organized into four service lines: Software System Design & Development (custom software, X-Reality/IoT/AI-NLP applications, mobile and web apps, legacy reengineering, plus platforms such as the 2025-launched SPRInT IoT platform and the 2020-launched WFA healthcare platform); Software System Governance & Security (BIT Remote Backup, BIT Email Archiver, IT Monitoring, VAPT, WAPT, and Code Vulnerability Assessment using industry-standard tools such as Nessus, Burp Suite, Metasploit, Kiuwan, and Fortify); Software Process & Product Quality (ISO/IEC 25010 and ISO 9001:2015-based assessment); and Project Management (PMBOK-inspired services including the PMStart lean methodology). The proprietary product BIT Remote Backup supports Windows, Linux, macOS, Unix, VMware, Hyper-V, and Xen environments with AES 256-bit encryption and deduplication, and is sold on a per-GB-protected subscription basis. VAPT and WAPT services carry publicly disclosed fixed pricing (VA from €1,500 to €7,500; WAPT from €5,500 to €36,000), while other services are quote-based.

SER&Practices monetizes through a mix of project-based professional services and recurring managed services, distributed via direct enterprise field sales and a technology-partner channel that includes Tier-1 vendor certifications with Trend Micro (Hybrid Cloud Security and SMB Security specializations, 2020), Micro Focus (Application Security Gold Level, 2020), and Libraesva (Email Archiver, 2020), as well as an exclusive XR/Industry 4.0 partnership with Hevolus/HevoLAB (2016). The University of Bari holds an 8% equity stake (€16,000 of €200,000 social capital), with the remaining ownership distributed among founding shareholders including Exprivia, Confcooperative Puglia, Consilium, Sud Sistemi, and individual founders Danilo Caivano, Giovanni Bruno, and Massimiliano Morga. The board is chaired by Roberto Mignemi, with Danilo Caivano bridging the company to the University of Bari as a software engineering professor.

Name

SER&Practices

Legal name

SER&Practices S.r.l. Spin-off dell'Università degli Studi di Bari Aldo Moro

Website

https://serandp.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2006

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

SER&Practices is an Italian University of Bari spin-off (S.r.l., founded 2006, 11-50 employees) delivering software engineering, cybersecurity, backup/archiving, and quality assessment services to Italian SMEs, large enterprises, and public administrations, with flagship recurring products BIT Remote Backup and BIT Email Archiver.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Cybersecurity and Software Engineering Services

NAICS

Computer Systems Design and Related Services (54151), Other Computer Related Services (541519), Security Systems Services (56162)

SIC

Services-Computer Programming, Data Processing, Etc. (7370), Services-Computer Programming Services (7371), Services-Management Consulting Services (8742)

akta.pro primary industry

Web Application Security (WAF, RASP) (HDADACAA)

Keywords

• Cybersecurity services
• Software engineering consulting
• Vulnerability assessment testing
• Backup disaster recovery
• Software quality assurance

Headquarters

HQ city

Bari

HQ country

Italy

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure, Operations

Revenue model

1. Professional Services - Security Testing: Revenue from security assessment services including VAPT, WAPT, CVA, and IT monitoring services provided on project and retainer basis to enterprises and SMEs.
2. Managed Services - BIT Backup & Recovery: Recurring revenue from Back In Time remote backup and disaster recovery services with cloud infrastructure, billed per GB protected.
3. Managed Services - Email Archiving: Email security and archiving services providing compliance and governance solutions with recurring subscription model.
4. Software Development Services: Custom software design, development, and reengineering services including X-Reality applications, IoT solutions, web and mobile applications.
5. Project Management Services: Project management consulting, PMStart methodology implementation, and project office services for R&D and complex initiatives.
6. Quality Assessment Services: Software product and process quality assessment services using ISO 25000 standards, GQM methodology, and tools like Kiuwan and Fortify.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

SER&Practices delivers a portfolio of software governance, cybersecurity, backup/disaster recovery, custom software development and software quality assessment services to SMEs, large enterprises and public administrations in Italy. Core offerings include BIT Remote Backup, BIT Email Archiver, IT Monitoring, VAPT, WAPT, CVA security services, the SPRInT IoT platform, the WFA medical booking platform and the Scerpa degree verification app, complemented by project management and ISO-based quality assessment consulting.

Product overview

SER&Practices is a University of Bari spin-off offering a portfolio of software services organized into four main areas: Software System Design & Development (including SPRInT IoT platform and WFA medical booking platform), Software System Governance & Security (BIT Remote Backup, BIT Email Archiver, IT Monitoring, VAPT, WAPT, CVA), Software Process & Product Quality (quality assessment using ISO standards), and Project Management. The company emphasizes transforming research results into technological innovation, using methodologies from Waterfall to Agile depending on project needs. They partner with technology providers including Micro Focus, Trend Micro, and Libraesva.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Back In Time (BIT): Remote backup and disaster recovery service with deduplication technology, supporting Windows, Linux, Mac, VMware, Hyper-V, and XEN environments.
• SPRInT
• Scerpa
• WFA

Products and services

• BIT Remote Backup Cloud-based remote backup and disaster recovery managed service with deduplication technology, AES 256-bit encryption, and support for Windows, Linux, Mac OSX, VMware, Hyper-V and Xen environments; billed per GB protected on a recurring basis for SMEs, enterprises and public administrations.
• BIT Email Archiver Managed email archiving service built on Libraesva Email Archiver technology, providing secure storage with encryption, tamper-proof certification with legal value, and GDPR-compliant email governance for organizations needing compliant long-term email retention.
• IT Monitoring Infrastructure monitoring service covering Assessment and continuous Monitoring phases for hardware, software, network and application services, using OpenNMS, Syslog-ng, Elastic Stack, Ntopng, pfSense, OPNsense and Endian UTM for proactive anomaly detection and analytical reporting.
• Code Vulnerability Assessment (CVA) Source code vulnerability inspection service using specialized tools such as Kiuwan and Micro Focus Fortify SCA to identify security vulnerabilities in codebases; produces compliance reports aligned to OWASP, CWE, MISRA, NIST, PCI and CERT standards.
• Vulnerability Assessment and Penetration Test (VAPT) Security testing service combining Vulnerability Assessment (network-based and host-based risk measurement) with optional Penetration Testing and risk assessment phases, using Nessus, Rapid7 Nexpose, OpenVAS, Burp Suite, Metasploit, SQLmap, OWASP ZAP, Wireshark and Aircrack-NG; offered in tiered per-host packages.
• Web Application Penetration Test (WAPT) Experimental security investigation of web applications that identifies vulnerabilities exploitable for unauthorized access, simulating threat-agent attacks against authentication, credential handling, user impersonation and server compromise, using tools such as Nikto; priced by application count tiers.
• SPRInT IoT Platform IoT platform supporting the development of vertical and specialized IoT solutions, including adaptive monitoring integrations with Microsoft HoloLens for Industry 4.0 applications.
• WFA (Web For All) Platform Web platform enabling patients to book specialist medical examinations at home and to receive the results of their examinations remotely, addressing access to specialist care for home-bound patients.
• Scerpa App Mobile application for smartphones that reads QR codes printed on digital degree scrolls to verify authenticity against the University of Bari's digital archives, providing anti-counterfeiting verification for academic credentials.
• Software System Design and Development Custom software engineering services covering the full software lifecycle from requirements definition to performance monitoring, using Waterfall and Agile methodologies and including SOA/micro-services, X-Reality applications, AI/NLP applications, web and mobile apps, IoT solutions and legacy reengineering.
• Software Process and Product Quality Assessment Quality assessment services covering product quality evaluation using ISO/IEC 25010 with Kiuwan and Micro Focus Fortify, and process quality assessment using ISO 9001:2015 and ISO 15504 with GQM, QIP and metric sheets.
• Project Management Services Project management services inspired by the PMBOK methodology and focused on research and development projects, including the PMStart lean approach for startups and immature organizational contexts; covers idea definition, funding search, project drafting, execution support, monitoring and CAPM/PMP certification training.

Quantifiable outcome

• Recovered 10 GB of encrypted data in 9 hours after CryptoLocker ransomware attack for Studio Polis Avvocati

Named customers3 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration33 records

Feature10 records

Partnerships

Nine partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Micro FocuscoreTechnology or Integration · 8 July 2020Gold Level partner in Application Security Portfolio. Specialization in Fortify application security solutions covering secure development, security testing, and continuous monitoring throughout the SDLC. Implements DevSecOps approach.
• LibraesvacoreTechnology or Integration · 1 July 2020Certified Partner for email security solutions. Provides Email Security Gateway (ESG), Load Balancer, and Email Archiver services. SER&P implemented Back In Time Mail Archiver based on Libraesva technology for email governance and GDPR compliance.
• Trend MicrocoreTechnology or Integration · 20 April 2020Trend Micro Hybrid Cloud Security and Small Business Security Specializations. SER&P offers Trend Micro Cloud One security services including workload security, container image security, file storage security, application security, network security, and Conformity compliance posture management.
• Hevolus/HevoLABcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 24 November 2016Exclusive partner for all technology and innovation projects. Collaborative development of Mixed Reality and Virtual Reality solutions using Microsoft HoloLens for Industry 4.0 customer experience applications including interior design, virtual catalogs, and immersive environments.
• University of Castilla La ManchaminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerInternational collaboration for software quality research. Contributed to ISO 25000 family standard evolution, particularly ISO 25012 and ISO 25024 for data quality assessment methods and tools development.
• AQCLabminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerInternational research partnership for software quality standards and ISO 25000 family expertise, informing standards evolution and assessment tool development.
• Project Management Institute Southern Italy Chapter (PMI-SIC)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration with founding members for project management skills development and continuous updating. Joint organization of dissemination and professional updating events promoted by PMI.
• ExpriviaminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorPartner company from the shareholders list, part of the SER&P ecosystem for technology distribution and service delivery.
• Confcooperative PugliaminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorCooperative network partner in Puglia region, providing local market access and regional business development support.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Cy4Gate: Italian cybersecurity company listed on Euronext Growth Milan offering offensive security, VAPT, and cyber-intelligence services. Most directly comparable peer — same geography and overlapping cybersecurity services portfolio.
• BV Tech: Italian IT services group with a strong cybersecurity and managed services practice. Comparable in offering managed security services and IT governance to Italian enterprises and public sector.
• S3K Security: Italian cybersecurity consultancy offering offensive security, security testing, and managed security services. Directly comparable in VAPT/WAPT offerings and Italian mid-market focus.
• Secure Network: Italian cybersecurity pure-play offering managed security services, vulnerability assessment, and consulting. Comparable in service portfolio and Italian SME/mid-market customer focus.
• Alet (Aletheia): Italian cybersecurity services and consulting firm offering offensive security, compliance, and security advisory to Italian enterprises — directly comparable in services and customer profile.

Broad incumbents

• Tinexta (Swascan): Italian digital trust and cybersecurity group (includes Swascan, an Italian cybersecurity services firm). A larger incumbent with overlapping VAPT, security advisory, and compliance offerings.
• Exprivia: Italian IT services group and existing shareholder/channel partner of SER&P. Comparable as a regional incumbent in software development, IT security, and digital transformation services.
• Engineering Ingegneria Informatica: Large Italian IT services group operating broadly across software engineering, cybersecurity, and digital transformation. A scaled incumbent competing for the same Italian enterprise and public-sector software quality contracts.
• Reply: Large Italian-headquartered IT consulting and digital services group with strong cybersecurity and software engineering practices. Comparable in offering integrated software quality and security services to enterprises.

Emerging players

• Libraesva: Italian email security vendor whose certified-partner technology SER&P resells. Comparable as a niche Italian security vendor; SER&P is a partner rather than competitor in email archiving but overlaps in the broader Italian SMB security market.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/serandp
• Facebookfacebook.com/serandpractices

Compliance7 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles8 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about SER&Practices