WatchGuard Technologies, provider of network security and intelligence, secure Wi-Fi and multi-factor authentication, is buying Panda Security, provider of endpoint protection. The aim of the combined company is to offer network and user perimeters, with centralised management of threat detection and response functionality fuelled by artificial intelligence, behaviour profiling techniques and security event correlation.
“Businesses today face an increasingly sophisticated and evolving threat landscape, scarcity of trained security professionals, and an increasingly porous perimeter. As a result, network security, advanced endpoint protection, multi-factor authentication, secure networking, and threat detection and response capabilities are consistently ranked as top security investment areas by IT decision-makers and IT solution providers who serve them,” said Prakash Panjwani, CEO of WatchGuard. “By bringing the companies together, we enable our current and future customers and partners to consolidate their fundamental security services under a single brand, backed by the innovation and quality that is a core part of both companies’ DNA.”
WatchGuard's vision is aiming to provide a complete security portfolio of products and services that protect users both inside and beyond the network perimeter, including secure Wi-Fi solutions, multi-factor authentication, and now most recently, user-focused security services. The acquisition of Panda Security fuels that vision and expands the company’s portfolio of user-centric threat detection and response products and services, it says.
Thirty-year-old Panda Security has worked on endpoint protection space for businesses and consumers, powered by a combination of automated processes and security analyst-led investigation services. The company also recently launched a sophisticated threat hunting service available for direct enterprise consumption and for Managed Security Service Providers (MSSPs) who resell Panda Security services.
“In the short term, the acquisition of Panda Security makes best-in-class endpoint detection and response, threat hunting, endpoint AV, email security, patching, and data compliance and encryption accessible to our customer base through a trusted vendor and their IT solution provider of choice,” continued Panjwani. “Longer term, our customers and partners will enjoy the additional benefits that come from these solutions being tightly integrated with the core WatchGuard offering.”
The transaction is subject to customary closing conditions, including regulatory approvals, and is expected to close in Q2 2020. W
