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Home > Security News > Cisco acquires SaaS security vendor ScanSafe |
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Cisco Systems announced Tuesday it is buying Web software-as-a-service security provider ScanSafe for $183 million, a move that will complement its appliance-based IronPort Web security gateway products.
The announcement comes just two weeks after Barracuda Networks acquired Purewire Inc. another SaaS Web security company, which had been in business for just over a year. "The competitive need is that web content filtering make sense to move into cloud," said John Kindervag, senior analyst for Forrester Research Inc. "To compete, Cisco would have to build their own or buy a SaaS model to integrate with their IronPort on-premise products, and Cisco would rather buy than build." Cisco has been a player in the Web security gateway and email security markets since its acquisition of IronPort in 2007, focusing on the enterprise market with high-end appliances. Cisco added a hosted email service earlier this year.
Email security vendors frequently offer Web security products and/or services as well, either their own or through partnerships—and vice versa. ScanSafe, for example, partners with Google/Postini. But, competitors have also been offering host-based Web security services, which appeal in large part to midmarket companies. These competing vendors are also selling hybrid offerings, with appliances or software at large corporate sites, and cloud-based services for remote workers and smaller branch offices. Scansafe's major market model has been partnerships with service providers, notably AT&T, Sprint and Orange Business Services. That fits in nicely with Cisco's business, said Keith Valory, director of strategy and operations, Cisco Security Technology Business Unit (STBU). Cisco does billions of dollars in business with service providers, who leverage its technology to for their customers. "We see the work that Scansafe has done building an amazing stable of service provider partners as fitting right into that complementing that very well," he said. Scansafe, in turn sees new sales opportunities in the channel. "One of the things haven't had a big push into is the traditional channel," said Roy Tuvey, ScanSafe co-founder and president. "This will be one of the major plusses with Cisco; they have a tremendous channel, and we will be able to leverage that very quickly." Cisco's main target market is still the enterprise, but it is making a major push into the SMB market, and the ScanSafe acquisition will eventually help that effort, Valory said. "With the acquisition of ScanSafe, Cisco is executing on our vision to build a borderless network security architecture that combines network and cloud-based services for advanced security enforcement," Tom Gillis, vice president and general manager of Cisco's SBTU, said in a news release. The announcement leaves only Zscaler Inc., which debuted the same day as Purewire, as a major independent host-based Web security service provider. MessageLabs was acquired Symantec Corp., followed quickly by McAfee's purchase of MX Logic Inc. . Other competitors include Finjan Inc., which recently announced a hosted service and hybrid option, Websense Inc., Blue Coat Inc., Trend Micro Inc., Aladdin Knowledge Systems Ltd, Sophos Plc., Webroot Software Inc., FaceTime Communications Inc. and Anchiva Systems Ltd.
Web security gateways grew out of URL filtering products, designed primarily to monitor and enforce Web usage policy for HR reasons, such as keeping employees off porn sites, and productivity. The rise in Web-based malware has shifted much of the focus on scanning for user calls to malicious or compromised Web sites. The third common feature is application control over things like instant messaging, P2P apps and Skype. Email and, to a lesser extent, Web filtering, have been significant in the trend to host-based security services, as more and more IT functions move to the cloud. "I've heard that Cisco will build more cloud-based infrastructure," said Kindervag. "This would be part of a larger strategy that Cisco will try to put more services in the cloud."
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