In IT security and data protection firm, Sophos, has entered into an agreement to acquire Astaro, a privately held provider of network security solutions. With this buy, Sophos will be able to expand its offerings to its existing customer base, thanks to Astaro's product profile.
According to a statement released by the company, it intends to sell an integrated "endpoint and network security solution that can apply consistent security, web, and application policy controls regardless of whether a user is in the corporate network or roaming off the network." The buy also helps Sophos to make a pitch for the lucrative UTM segment as Astaro with $56 million in billings and 30% year over year growth in 2010, is the fourth largest dedicated unified threat management (UTM) provider.
"The combination of Astaro's comprehensive portfolio of network security solutions alongside our endpoint, mobile, and email and web threat and data protection capabilities will enable us to continue to deliver on our vision of providing complete security without complexity wherever the user and company data resides," stated Steve Munford, Chief Executive Officer at Sophos.
The market for multi-function security appliances has continued to grow because organizations of all sizes want better protection against security threats and need to support their users and distributed workplaces in a comprehensive, easy to use, efficient way. According to IDC, the market for unified threat management was approximately $2 billion worldwide in 2010, with a CAGR of 13% 2010-2014.
"Demand for network security solutions with more comprehensive and high-quality protection is accelerating fast, and yet companies are struggling with the complexity of multiple security solutions to serve these needs," stated Jan Hichert, Chief Executive Officer at Astaro.
Add new comment