Cisco has announced its intent to acquire Waltham, MA-based CloudLock for $293m in cash.
CloudLock is a cloud application security broker, which helps enterprises extend security controls to cloud applications which may otherwise not have such controls.
Acquisitions are part of Cisco’s strategy to add to its portfolio and accelerate penetration into markets. It is no stranger to acquiring security companies with SourceFire, ThreatGRID, Neohapsis, OpenDNS, Portcullis, and Lancope being some of its notable security acquisitions in recent years.
The acquisition, according to Cisco, will allow it to accelerate its cloud security portfolio, and extend the cloud security offering throughout the enterprise.
The CloudLock team will join Cisco’s Networking and Security Business Group under Senior Vice President and General Manager David Goeckeler.
Breaking the Fourth Wall
As more companies migrate to – or rely on cloud services and applications, threats have followed them into the cloud. As a result, securing cloud services and applications is becoming an increasing concern for enterprises.
Microsoft saw the gap in this and sought to address it with its own acquisition of Adallom back in September. However, Cisco is not intent on simply securing cloud applications, rather the purchase will tie into its expanding security portfolio. The challenge, as with any acquisition lies in how well the technology can be integrated to provide a seamless and joined up security experience for its customers.
Javvad Malik 