The downturn in the financial markets, a pending recession and tight credit have done little to impede the appetite of security vendors to acquire companies and consolidate the market.
Security vendors Symantec, McAfee, Trend Micro, Secure Computing, CA and Sophos made no fewer than 11 significant acquisitions in 2008, consolidating the security market amid a tight credit market.
Symantec-MessageLabs
$695 million
October 2008
Symantec Oct. 8 acquired MessageLabs, which uses an SAAS (software as a service) model to deliver security for online chat, e-mail and Web applications. MessageLabs allows users to block malware, prevent access to Web sites and prevent unauthorized data leaks. It’s another step for Symantec into SAAS and the cloud and matches McAfee’s acquisition of Secure Computing.
Symantec-SwapDrive
$123 million
June 2008
Symantec in June acquired SwapDrive, an online file backup and recovery vendor. SwapDrive put Symantec’s Norton backup and recovery line in a better position to compete with EMC, following that company’s acquisition of online backup provider Mozy in September 2007. Symantec also gained SwapDrive companies Backup.com, a data protection service, and WhaleMail, which lets users send files of any size over the Web.
Symantec AppStream
$ – Undisclosed
April 2008
Symantec in April acquired AppStream, an SAAS delivery provider, adding a streaming capability to its SVS (Software Virtualization Solution) product. AppStream’s software manages desktop applications from a central server, delivering only the components the user needs. Symantec had partnered with AppStream since 2006 to deliver its SVS Pro product. Acquiring AppStream put Symantec in a better position to compete with Microsoft’s SoftGrid and the Thinstall (recently acquired by VMware) Virtualization Suite.
Symantec-Vontu
$350 million
November 2007
Symantec announced in November 2007 it would acquire Vontu, one of the largest independent DLP providers. The acquisition added some content flow capabilities to Symantec’s DLP offerings and beefed up its eDiscovery functionality.
McAfee-Reconnex
$46 million
August 2008
McAfee in August acquired Reconnex, a DLP (data loss prevention) provider, to add discovery and “content awareness capabilities” to its DLP portfolio.
McAfee-Secure Computing
$465 million
September 2008
McAfee announced plans in September to acquire Secure Computing, which provides intrusion prevention, firewall, Web security, and e-mail and data protection, as well as a level of NAC (network access control) technology. Secure Computing was also the owner of the Gauntlet firewall McAfee sold in 2002. McAfee said the acquisition allows it to offer a complete, single-source network security portfolio to a wide range of businesses, from small to global.
Secure Computing, Sophos, CA and Trend Micro
Secure Computing-Securify
$15 Million
September 2008
Secure Computing announced in early September it would acquire Securify, gaining Securify’s network monitoring appliance for automatic discovery and policy. The acquisition was announced three weeks before McAfee announced it would acquire Secure Computing.
Sophos-Utimaco
$341 Million
September 2008
Antivirus vendor Sophos acquired Utimaco Software, a data encryption software company and makers of the makers of SafeGuard DLP product line. The acquisition gives Sophos a foothold in the endpoint data protection market, where it will compete with McAfee and Check Point Software Technologies. It also transforms Sophos into a much larger competitor, adding a reported $81 million in revenue with a reported $275 million in revenue and 1,500 employees.
CA-IDFocus
$ – Undisclosed
October 2008
CA on Oct. 7 acquired IDFocus, an identity management software maker, to bolster its network access control and compliance offerings.
Trend Micro-Identum
$ – Undisclosed
February 2008
Trend Micro acquired Identum, a UK-based developer of e-mail encryption technology, to add to Trend’s existing portfolio of Web and content-security products. Traditionally an anti-virus firm, Trend Micro’s foray into e-mail encryption was an early sign that the security vendor would deliver both in its portfolio, the way AV firms began adding spam protection four or five years ago.
Trend Micro-Provilla
$ – Undisclosed
October 2007
Trend Micro announced plans in October 2007 to acquire Provilla, a DLP provider, to add inside threat protection to its endpoint security portfolio. The purchase followed McAfee’s acquisition of SafeBoot ($350 million), Websense’s purchase of PortAuthority Technologies ($90 million) and Cisco Systems’ acquisition of e-mail filter and anti-spam provider IronPort Systems ($830 million).