---
title: "Datapath Buys Bright Bear of Irvine"
date: 2020-07-13
summary: "Orange County Business Journal item on Datapath acquiring Bright Bear Technology Solutions, naming Nathan Phinney as former Bright Bear president and now Datapath general manager of Southern California."
outlet: "Orange County Business Journal"
source: "https://www.ocbj.com/technology/datapath-buys-bright-bear-irvine/"
url: "https://nathanphinney.com/datapath-buys-bright-bear-of-irvine/"
author: "Nathan Phinney"
author_role: "COO, AllSafe IT"
author_url: "https://nathanphinney.com/about/"
same_as: ["https://www.linkedin.com/in/nathanphinney"]
expertise: ["IT", "InfoSec", "Managed Services", "Cybersecurity", "Business Operations", "Technology for Escrow Companies", "Technology for Nonprofits"]
updated: 2026-10-10
---

Orange County Business Journal item on Datapath acquiring Bright Bear Technology Solutions, naming Nathan Phinney as former Bright Bear president and now Datapath general manager of Southern California.

By Kevin Costelloe, Orange County Business Journal (Technology), July 13, 2020. A short news item based on a company release; it contains no direct quotes from Nathan.

Title as printed: "Datapath Buys Bright Bear of Irvine". The OCBJ item printed: "Nathan Phinney, former president of Bright Bear, is now general manager of Southern California for Datapath." (as printed by OCBJ).

[Read the article at OCBJ](https://www.ocbj.com/technology/datapath-buys-bright-bear-irvine/) (Orange County Business Journal: local business publication)

## What Nathan said

OCBJ reported: The company said that Nathan Phinney, former president of Bright Bear, is now general manager of Southern California for Datapath.

## Key facts

- "Datapath, a cybersecurity firm in Modesto, said it had acquired Bright Bear Technology Solutions, an Irvine-based managed services provider (MSP)."
- "The acquisition will create one of the largest MSP and cybersecurity firms in the state, according Datapath." (typo as printed)
- "No terms were provided in the company release."
- "The deal was completed 100% remotely using secure network connection, e-signature, and virtual meetings, according to Datapath."

[Read the original](https://www.ocbj.com/technology/datapath-buys-bright-bear-irvine/)

## About the author

**Nathan Phinney**, COO, AllSafe IT.

- Co-founded Bright Bear Technology Solutions (2010 to 2020), which reached the CRN MSP 500 and Ingram Micro SMB 500 lists before its 2020 acquisition by Datapath.
- 17 SOC 2 initiatives across six companies, never an exception on an effort he led
- Member of InfraGard
- Member of the XChange Advisory Board, The Channel Company (2018 to 2022 and 2026)
- Author of _CTRL ALT SURVIVE: The Secrets of My Small Business Success_

Expertise: IT, InfoSec, Managed Services, Cybersecurity, Business Operations, Technology for Escrow Companies, Technology for Nonprofits.

Featured in: CRN (7 articles, 2019 to 2026), Backblaze, Bigleaf Networks, Channel Partners Expo, GTIA, Orange County Business Journal. See https://nathanphinney.com/press.md

Recommended on LinkedIn by Brook Porter (Partner and Co-Founder at G2 Venture Partners; previously at Kleiner Perkins, where he worked with Al Gore) and Tim Acker (Former channel chief at Lumen).

More: [About Nathan Phinney](https://nathanphinney.com/about.md) | [LinkedIn](https://www.linkedin.com/in/nathanphinney)