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Anytime a smaller, younger company trying to make its way in the cutthroat IT software and services business lands a key partnership with a respected elder, it’s a significant win.
Elastica, not the rock band by the same name, but a newcomer in analytics-based cloud access and security, has forged a partnership with networking giant Cisco Systems to provide Cisco customers access to Elastica’s specialized cloud-application security.
Elastica, which Gartner classifies as one of a relatively new breed of vendors it calls cloud access security brokers (CASB), is the only Cisco partner to provide this new-gen, cloud-based security software. The agreement augments Cisco’s current security portfolio by providing customers with CASB services to address security and compliance risks associated with cloud application and services adoption.
Gartner ranks CASB as the No. 1 security technology in 2014/2015. The analyst firm expects that 27 percent of all enterprises will have more than half of their IT in cloud applications by the end of this year. By 2017, 33 percent of enterprises will be adopting cloud applications, Gartner predicts.
Elastica is now providing Cisco customers the CloudSOC portfolio, which is designed to eliminate exposure of sensitive and regulated data; identify and thwart malicious activity, and achieve greater visibility into and control of cloud applications. The Cisco agreement includes the entire Elastica product portfolio, including its Audit, Detect, Protect and Investigate apps, in addition to the Securlet line that targets specific SaaS apps.
Cisco and Elastica also will provide shadow IT risk monitoring and controls by assessing which applications should be embraced and which should be blocked. This solution will work with data from Cisco Cloud Web Security (CWS), Web Security Appliance (WSA) and Cisco ASA with FirePOWER Services product lines.
Additionally, Elastica’s API-based Securlets complement Cisco CWS, WSA and ASA security packages by adding out-of-band visibility and controls to enhance network and Web security.
Elastica’s cloud app learning and event extraction product, StreamIQ, performs deep monitoring of risky transactions inside cloud apps used by enterprise employees. Elastica’s content classification, ContentIQ, classifies links and sensitive content moving in and out of cloud apps. These technologies power Elastica Detect, Protect and Investigate Apps that protect organizations against exploitations, account takeovers and malicious use of cloud apps in the enterprise.
Elastica’s CloudSOC solution will be included in Cisco’s global price list later this quarter.