What does the future of the endpoint encryption market look like?

What does the future of the endpoint encryption market look like?

With Sophos plc's recent buyout of Utimaco, what's your prediction for the future of the endpoint encryption market?

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I've long said that full-disk encryption is a must-have feature of a larger endpoint security suite. (You can check out a recent post on my blog for more information.) As Sophos acquires Utimaco Safeware Inc. (the deal was just completed as of this writing), this is just further validation of that point.

It started when Check Point Software Technologies Ltd. acquired PointSec Mobile Technologies two years ago. This was when enterprises started figuring out that it's a lot easier to encrypt laptops than notify all their customers when those laptops get stolen. By integrating PointSec with Check Point's endpoint suite, they have a perceived point of differentiation from all the other antivirus and endpoint security players.

Last year, McAfee Inc. acquired SafeBoot B.V. for the same reasons, and Symantec Corp. announced an OEM agreement with GuardianEdge Technologies Inc. to add the capabilities to their offering. The Sophos/Utimaco deal validates that the full-disk encryption function is important for all endpoint security players to have.

More information:

This was first published in August 2008