Cisco Systems is acquiring Duo Security for roughly $2.35 billion, the networking company confirmed this morning.
Duo, which specializes in two-factor authentication (2FA), endpoint security and single sign-on (SSO) technology, surpassed $100 million in annual recurring revenue in 2017, according to MSSP Alert.
Duo’s channel business grew 600 percent in 2017 thanks in part to the company’s commitment to partnering with managed service providers (MSPs) and security solution providers, the firm said earlier this year — though actual channel revenue dollar figures were not disclosed.
In a prepared statement about the buyout, Cisco Executive VP David Goeckeler offered these perspectives :
"In today's multicloud world, the modern workforce is connecting to critical business applications both on- and off-premise. IT teams are responsible for protecting hundreds of different perimeters that span anywhere a user makes an access decision. Duo's zero-trust authentication and access products integrated with our network, device and cloud security platforms will enable our customers to address the complexity and challenges that stem from multi-and hybrid-cloud environments."
Cisco Systems-Duo Security Acquisition Plan
Duo potentially aligns well with several Cisco business initiatives -- from the networking giant's fast-growing security business (overall) to the MSP-friendly Umbrella portfolio, and the shift to recurring revenues.
Duo provides three potential benefits to Cisco customers and partners, the networking giant says. The deal, company officials say:
- Extends intent-based networking into multicloud environments. Cisco currently provides on-premises network access control via its Identity Services Engine (ISE) product. Duo's software as a service-based (SaaS) model will be integrated with Cisco ISE to extend ISE to provide cloud-delivered application access control, the company says.
- Simplifies policy for cloud security. By verifying user and device trust, Duo will add trusted identity awareness into Cisco's Secure Internet Gateway, Cloud Access Security Broker, Enterprise Mobility Management, and several other cloud-delivered products, the company says.
- Expands endpoint visibility coverage. Cisco's visibility of over 180 million managed devices will be augmented by Duo's broad visibility of mobile and unmanaged devices, the firms add.
The Duo team will report to Goeckeler.
