Palo Alto Networks has officially confirmed its acquisition of Talon (by Palo Alto Networks). This development holds intriguing implications, not only for endpoint security vendors like SentinelOne, Cybereason, and Talon investor CrowdStrike but also for Secure Access Service Edge (SASE) players.
About a year ago, I had the opportunity to advise a company in the SD-WAN/SASE sector during a significant capital raise. What stood out during our market assessments and discussions with investors was the preference of many enterprises for SASE solutions from broad platform providers like Palo Alto Networks, Fortinet and Cisco over standalone or best-of-breed options.
Palo Alto’s Prisma SASE is already highly regarded by its customer base. By adding Talon to its portfolio, Palo Alto demonstrates not only its willingness to invest in cutting-edge technologies but also its recognition of the growth potential in the enterprise SASE sector.
The landscape of secure enterprise browsers has become crowded over the past three years, with notable players such as Island, Google Chrome, Microsoft Edge, LayerX Security, Perception Point, Seraphic Security, Red Access, Surf Security and Primary.
Palo Alto’s acquisition validates the venture capital interest in enterprise browsers and is likely to attract more investments in the months to come. In the past, Palo Alto’s investments have often signaled the preferences of security buyers. It wouldn’t be surprising to see companies like Island, Surf, or others I’ve mentioned earlier getting acquired in the near future.
Let’s take a moment to delve into Palo Alto’s rationale behind this acquisition:
The pandemic has brought about permanent changes in how people work. This shift isn’t just limited to remote and hybrid work; it also includes flexible and contractual adjustments. As a result, enterprises now face increased risks related to data leakage and exfiltration when employees work multiple jobs, even at different firms, including competitors.
Enterprise workloads and workflows have significantly shifted to the cloud, and this transition is largely one-way. Many enterprise software providers offer clients for a smooth, secure, and optimized user experience. However, not all enterprise software follows suit. For example, Microsoft Office, while still popular among mid-career professionals, is now challenged by Microsoft 365 and Google Workspace among early-career professionals. Modern browser technology can handle complex rendering tasks, and network speeds are fast enough to ensure an excellent user experience. The missing piece is security native to the browser, not further down the stack. An enterprise browser’s value proposition is simple: allow employees, contractors, and even customers to access privileged data securely, in a controlled, and auditable manner.
Prisma is already recognized as the leading comprehensive SASE solution, according to Gartner and my informal survey mentioned earlier. With the addition of Talon, Prisma gains the ability to secure access from unmanaged endpoints, setting it apart from the competition. It’s also a lightweight way for Palo Alto to compete with endpoint security providers like CrowdStrike , SentinelOne, and Cybereason.
In addition to securing access, Talon’s browser claims to have capabilities to prevent exposure to malware and enforce controls against data exfiltration, such as downloading files and taking screenshots. While it also offers user onboarding features, they might not be as robust as existing systems used by the target enterprises.
What’s not explicitly mentioned is that having greater control over the browser allows employers to monitor employee behavior and productivity more effectively. In essence, bosses can snoop on employees with greater ease if employees are required to use an enterprise browser versus, say, Firefox.
The key takeaway here is that Palo Alto’s acquisition of Talon is about more than just secure access via a browser; it’s about the broader SASE concept, which combines network access and application security into a single, comprehensive offering. This move consolidates Palo Alto’s position and is likely to trigger further acquisition activity by competitors in the near term.
Thoughts and comments welcome.
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