Cybersecurity technology acquisitions continue to grow
The cybersecurity technology sector continues to experience a wave of acquisitions. Leading technology vendors and security service providers continue to strengthen their portfolios by acquiring technology and capabilities to address opportunities in cloud security, threat detection, orchestration and automation.
Over the last 2-3 years, the cybersecurity sector has experienced significant acquisition activity. Within the last year GlobalData has counted a minimum of five acquisitions per leading vendor for 2019. If we equate this in monetary terms external sources report that quarter one in 2019 on its own generated more than US$7Bn in deals. Investment in startups also continues to gain momentum with global investments totaling more than US$6Bn. All this indicates a real demand for cybersecurity to address the threats placed on IT systems globally across consumer, business and government entities.
Drivers of M&A activity
From a technology perspective, there are a number of factors that are driving Mergers and Acquisition (M&A) activity. In cybersecurity. Two key end user enterprise business drivers stand out. Firstly, the advancement of enterprise IT in leveraging cloud delivery, and secondly the emergence of Internet of Things (IoT). Applications are transforming traditional connectivity and application delivery models to create flexibility and agility in networks at lower price points.
Addressing cloud security
Although public cloud providers include security to fortify their cloud infrastructure, the end user enterprise is ultimately responsible to ensure that their data and applications on the public cloud are secure. In reality, a large proportion of organizations do not have adequate security measures in place. A number of these companies have experienced some form of cloud security incidents. These include unauthorized cloud access, misconfiguration of cloud platforms, account hacking, and insecure interfaces. In addition, a large number of end user enterprises are struggling with operational and compliance risk issues with respect to their cloud infrastructure. All of this is creating more uncertainty for businesses.
Security market offers business opportunities
Taking into consideration these types of enterprise challenges, the cybersecurity market continues to create significant opportunity for technology vendors and service providers to develop robust solutions to address cloud security. However, the cybersecurity market is still in catch up mode in terms of maturity and in having defined portfolios that address emerging areas.
In addition, many leading global vendors are placing more emphasis and investment in developing their portfolio roadmaps. These are next generation solutions addressing cloud delivery. Because of this, traditional service providers that are jumping on the cybersecurity bandwagon by looking to acquire cloud security technologies to extend their managed IT service portfolio solution offerings.
Key cybersecurity acquisitions
Some of the companies that have been highly active in acquisitions include Palo Alto Networks, a company that made a number of acquisitions in 2019. These include acquiring Twistlock and PureSec, to extend its Prisma™ cloud security strategy, and the acquisition of Demisto, a leading cybersecurity company specializing in security orchestration, automation, and response.
Other examples include Check Point Software acquiring Cymplify to build its IoT security offering. Lastly, Accenture acquired Symantec’s cybersecurity services business from Broadcom, to build out its managed security threat intelligence services business by combining its expertise in advanced analytics, automation and machine learning.
Skills are in high demand
A key observation from all of these acquisitions is that many of these buyers are leading global companies with deep pockets. In a market where skill sets are in demand and product development life cycles are long, it makes business sense to bring in these capabilities. It is achieved through acquiring niche, but highly credible technology-savvy vendors that are focusing on specific areas within the cybersecurity value chain. Many of these target acquisitions have also gone through a series of investment funding and are now investment-ready as part of their exit strategy. These investment trends in cybersecurity are somewhat different when compared to general IT, where leading vendors aim to consolidate the market and take out smaller competitors.
More acquisitions on the way
As acquisitions move forward in 2020 and beyond we see investments happening. Within cloud security, in the next two years GlobalData expects acquisition opportunities in Artificial Intelligence (AI) Base Detection, Internet of Things (IoT) Threat Detection, Workload Protection Platforms, Cloud Access Security Brokers (CASBs), and Cloud Security Posture Management. Additionally, we see vendors with credible solutions in Threat Management, Identity Access Management, and improvements to platforms that improve translation of security data for multi-cloud delivery, multi-cloud, zero-trust application and security platform, gaining traction in the market. This will make them interesting targets for investors.
Integration is the challenge
So, acquisitions in the cybersecurity sector at this moment in time will continue to gain momentum as we move forward 2020 and beyond. For leading vendors with aggressive acquisition strategies the challenge is always going to be how successfully they can integrate the different technologies as they move forward with their portfolio roadmaps. On the other hand, competitors that do not see M&A initiatives to be strategic to their corporate strategy surely must consider how they will capitalize on cloud cybersecurity opportunities.
Evaluation is needed
These trends create even more complexity for end user enterprises that are attempting to reduce and consolidate different security solution vendors across their network and move to become more self-sufficient in managing the security layer for the cloud environment. Therefore, as part of an enterprise’s sourcing strategy, companies must evaluate and measure the mid-long term benefits that its selected cybersecurity vendor has to the needs of the business, and carry out a full risk contingency assessment on newly launched cloud cybersecurity portfolio suites that have been developed through acquisitions.
source verdict
Industry: Cyber Security
Latest Jobs
-
- React.js Developer. Contract. SIP | VOIP experience needed. SC Cleared Outside IR35 Contract. London
- London
- OUTSIDE IR35
-
SIP | VOIP Developer. SC Cleared Contract. London Looking for a SC Cleared SIP / VOIP Developer to develop an application that interacts with a set of voice and video signalling API’s You will also work on developing in-house applications, browser plugins and automated tooling to support secure communication systems. Responsibilities Develop an application that will manage number mapping and associated identities using commercial SBC API’s. Develop new user-facing features using React.js or other modern JavaScript frameworks. Build reusable components and front-end libraries for future use. Collaborate with the design team to translate UI/UX design wireframes into code. Work closely with backend developers to integrate front-end code with server-side logic. Conduct code reviews and provide constructive feedback to team members. Stay up-to-date on emerging technologies and industry trends to continuously improve our front-end development practices. Troubleshoot and debug issues that arise during development and in production environments. Maintain high coding standards and practices and ensure code is well-documented. Requirement Experience of developing specialist applications using REST API’s. Good knowledge of Go, Java and Python (open to alternative combinations of languages). Proficiency in front-end languages and frameworks such as HTML, CSS, JavaScript, React.js, etc. Strong understanding of web standards, responsive design, and cross-browser compatibility. Experience with version control systems such as Git. Knowledge of RESTful APIs and asynchronous request handling. Familiarity with UI/UX design principles and tools.
-
- Senior Data Privacy Consultant. Client Facing | London
- London
- N/A
-
Senior Data Privacy Consultant. Client Facing | London Senior Data Privacy Consultant needed for a key client facing opportunity. Must be willing to undergo SC Security Clearance. Hybrid role- onsite with customer / office 2-3 days a week. London Key Responsibilities: Lead and support client facing data privacy projects. Assess compliance, define and deliver strategic projects / implement privacy solutions. Manage project teams and develop business opportunities. Required Experience: Experience in data protection and privacy standards. Background in consulting. Skills and Qualifications: Business consulting experience IAPP Privacy Manager / Privacy Technologist Location Greater London UK based role. Not able to provide VISA sponsorship.
-
- Security Analyst - Internal role. London commutable. Permanent
- London
- N/A
-
Security Analyst - Internal role. London commutable opportunity. Operational Security - Investigate, escalate and proactively work to ensure household name remains protected. Project Security - Coordinate, log change requests with project delivery teams to meet security requirements Policy / compliance - work with team to aid in uplifting these as and where needed This role is role to investigate, escalate and proactively work to protect a globally recognised brand. You must have current hands on operational analytical security experience with Microsoft technology stack Someone with a SOC Analyst / security engineering background would be well suited. This position will join a small team and would suit someone that has broad experience across the security threat landscape. Experience / knowledge across industry GRC standards such NIST, ISO27001 etc very advantageous and a priority. You will work across multiple teams proactively working to secure the business. Must be able to commute to Central London 3 days a week. Visa sponsorship not available Apply today to find out more.
-
- Network / Security Infrastructure Engineer | West London | Permanent
- London
- N/A
-
Network / Security Infrastructure Engineer | West London | Current Config, Install, upgrade experience On prem / Datacetner experience essential. Hands on experience MUST include: Routing, Switching, Network Security (firewall, IDS etc), Microsoft exchange / Exchange 365. Scripting / automation experience wanted. Python, Powershell etc Regular travel to West London is required. Visa sponsorship not available. Apply today for more information chris.holt@dclsearch.com Use this whatapp link to reach out https://wa.me/message/6USF5RAQBOZIP1