SD Edge Series – Palo Alto buys CloudGenix for $420M

Wow – in the midst of a pandemic, Palo Alto Networks announces the acquisition of CloudGenix for $420M!  Bold move…  GREAT move!!  This move strikes me in 3 ways and will help drive the ability to deliver a secure Software Defined Edge in several beneficial ways for the market!

1. While most good SD-WAN solutions provide a level of native security built-in to their deliverables, Kumar Ramachandran chose to encrypt data AND play well with best in breed security providers for the last few years. What Nikesh Arora (CEO and Chairman) of PANW recognized is that while most security companies are claiming SD-WAN functionality and SD-WAN companies are claiming sufficient security SLA’s…  PANW was much stronger with CloudGenix and vice versa… 1 + 1 = GREAT Cloud-Enabled Edge Solutions…  secure, agile, visible and application focused!  The other thing that strikes me, knowing Kumar a bit personally – Nikesh got a great deal in my opinion and the “fit” between the two companies could not be better culturally.  Both men have brilliant minds – as do the people on their teams – and, just as importantly, good hearts!
2. The Prisma Access cloud-based platform (Secure Access Service Edge) for PANW combined with the CloudGenix Cloud Controller give remote users security and performance improvements that enable not just branch offices, but today’s workers an experience superior to most legacy VPN’s offer – even at home offices!
3. Finally, while we’ve seen this market experience consolidations with some of the better-known players being acquired, we believe that this corporate integration will go smoother than most… benefiting their teams, our combined clientele and the SD-WAN sector as a whole.

While we remain a Solutions Agnostic Company, we believe that the platforms that are already built out will benefit customers now – and well into the future!

–  Mike Champion