Cisco to Acquire SaaS Web Security Leader ScanSafe

This morning, Cisco announced its intention to purchase ScanSafe, a provider of SaaS Web Security. It's another announcement in a string of acquisitions in the web security space, the most recent was Barracuda's announcement of their intention to purchase PureWire, another SaaS Web Security provider.

ScanSafe is based in London and San Francisco, and its Web security solutions are targeted at organizations ranging from global enterprises to small businesses.

From the announcement:

"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," said Tom Gillis, vice president and general manager of Cisco's Security Technology Business Unit (STBU). "Cisco will provide customers the flexibility to choose the deployment model that best suits their organization and deliver anytime, anywhere protection against Web-based threats."

Web security is a large and expanding market expected to grow to $2.3 billion by 2012. By acquiring ScanSafe, Cisco is building on its successful acquisition of leading on-premise content security provider IronPort. The acquisition brings together the Cisco IronPort(TM) high-performance Web security appliance and ScanSafe's leading SaaS Web security service. This combination will expand Cisco's security portfolio to offer superior on-premise, hosted, and hybrid-hosted Web security solutions.

"ScanSafe pioneered the market for SaaS Web security and continues as a leader in this rapidly growing market," said ScanSafe CEO Eldar Tuvey. "At a time when enterprises are increasingly focused on a flexible and mobile workplace, the need for hybrid-hosted Web security solutions is greater than ever. By joining the Cisco team we will be able to offer even better and more flexible protection to our customers."

ScanSafe's service will be integrated with Cisco® AnyConnect VPN Client, the newest virtual private network (VPN) product from Cisco, to provide the industry's leading secure mobility solution. In addition, ScanSafe's global network of carrier-grade data centers and multi-tenant architecture will further enhance Cisco's ability to provide new cloud-security services for customers anywhere in the world.

Upon the close of the acquisition, the ScanSafe team will become part of Cisco's STBU, reporting to Gillis.

The ScanSafe acquisition demonstrates Cisco's commitment to security and its ability to use its financial strength to quickly capture key market transitions through its build, buy, and partner strategy. Under the terms of the agreement, Cisco will pay approximately $183 million in cash and retention-based incentives. The acquisition is subject to various standard closing conditions and is expected to close in the second quarter of Cisco's fiscal year 2010.

There's definitely more interest lately in Web Security, and I think you'll only see more in the acquisition arena, in addition to new offerings from various vendors. With malware being as prevalent in web pages as in email, this trend can only continue.