Blue Coat acquisition will strengthen its online security offerings
In this increasingly digital age, technology mergers and acquisitions are becoming more essential to offering customers more comprehensive options. Online security is one area that can always be strengthened, especially as hackers develop more sophisticated ways to access sensitive data.
Blue Coat Systems, Inc. made a move toward stronger security when it announced that it will acquire Solera Networks, a leading provider of big data security intelligence and analytics for advanced threat protection. According to a company press release, Blue Coat will gain industry-leading security analytics and forensic capabilities from the technology acquisition.
Greg Clark, CEO at Blue Coat Systems, said in the press release that the future of the industry is moving past blocking malware to actively preventing targeted attacks. It is important to identify and resolve any attacks in real time.
"Retrospective capture and analytics are now an essential component of modern security architecture, and Solera has pioneered this field, creating a DVR for the network that records traffic and allows customers to easily mine that information," Clark said.
Solera CEO Steve Shillingford said in the press release that his company's software acts like a security camera to a network, and will provide a detailed record of all packets, flows, and files to detect and analyze the full scope of possible attacks. Additionally, Solera DeepSee—the name of the company's security platform—uses security forensics to find answers after a breach has occurred, such as how it happened and which future preventative measures can be taken.
This technology acquisition is an example of how two companies benefit from M&A activity. Both businesses use their strengths to help push one another forward and offer better options to their customers.