Netskope Acquires Infiot, Will Deliver Fully Integrated, Single-Vendor SASE Platform

Converged SASE platform provides AI-driven zero trust security and simplified, optimized connectivity to any network location or device, including IoT

SANTA CLARA, Calif., Aug. 2, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Netskope, the leader in Security Service Edge (SSE) and Zero Trust, today announced it has acquired Infiot, a pioneer in enabling secure, reliable access with zero trust security, network and application optimization, and AI-driven operations.

As Netskope Borderless WAN, the addition of Infiot's revolutionary technology will enable Netskope customers to apply uniform security and quality of experience (QoE) policies to the widest range of hybrid work needs, from employees at home or on-the-go, to branch offices, ad-hoc point-of-sale systems, and multi-cloud environments. For customers, all of these capabilities are delivered in a single architecture, using one policy framework, and one console, which dramatically simplifies operations, preserves network performance, and ensures SASE success.

Businesses and governments are rapidly adopting SASE to safeguard data wherever it moves, support digital transformation efforts, and realize better efficiency and return-on-investment from their technology. Netskope is a widely acknowledged leader in SSE, which describes the security services needed for a successful SASE architecture.

Relevant to SASE growth, Gartner^® notes:

• "By 2024, 80% of SD-WAN deployments will incorporate SSE requirements, up from less than 25% in 2022"^[1]
• "By 2025, 80% of enterprises will adopt a strategy to unify web, cloud services, and private application access from a single vendor's SSE platform"^[2]

Despite SASE's popularity, however, confusing vendor messaging often accompanies piecemeal product sets that are spuriously marketed as "SASE." Most of these products are not natively integrated, nor able to simplify technology environments, and lack critical network and infrastructure transformation capabilities—all of which risk higher levels of security incidents, network downtime, and poor ROI.

Netskope Borderless WAN combines with Netskope Intelligent SSE in a fully converged SASE platform, uniquely addressing these challenges.

Founded in 2018 by veterans of the SD-WAN market, Infiot was one of only four vendors recognized in the 2021 Gartner "Cool Vendors™ in Cloud Networking"^[3] report, was twice named to The Futuriom Top 40^[4], and has been successfully deployed by customers in healthcare, retail, education, energy, manufacturing, telecommunications, and other industries.

Infiot technology leverages a cloud-based, zero-touch deployment and provisioning model with multiple physical and virtual appliance form factors. The solution includes built-in routing, a transport-agnostic approach that supports both wired and wireless networking, app-aware QoE enforcement combined with policy-based traffic steering, and other integrated network security functions critical for deployment at the edge. For customers, all of this capability is delivered in a single architecture, using one policy framework, and one console, which dramatically simplifies operations for thinly-stretched networking and infrastructure teams.

As the foundation of the new Netskope Borderless WAN solution, Infiot technology will allow customers to embrace modern, cloud-first networking by leveraging Netskope SASE Gateways, creating secure, optimized connections between any enterprise location, including site-to-site, or the cloud. Netskope SASE Gateways also enable end-to-end optimization for improved app performance, provide increased network resilience through real-time link monitoring and dynamic path selection, and offer identity and per-app access policies to apply zero trust principles to the network.

Netskope Borderless WAN critical use cases include:

• Easy access to industry-leading Netskope Intelligent SSE services powered by world-class Netskope NewEdge infrastructure
• All-in-one intelligent access, routing, wireless WAN, network security, app assurance, and edge compute as an effective way to modernize, simplify and implement SASE architecture
• The ability to offload MPLS and eliminate costs by sending more traffic direct-to-net, eliminate backhauling and leverage fixed/mobile connectivity options (such as 4G/5G)
• Better guaranteed WAN connectivity to ensure end-to-end performance, from the "last mile" to the cloud or legacy data center
• Simplified operational overhead associated with running custom third-party applications

"Today, leaders across IT, security, and networking and the world's best-known analyst firms agree that the explosion of data and devices, along with the numerous ways that people connect, communicate, and collaborate, make the transformation of both networking and security a critical imperative for businesses and governments. It is in this transformation where Netskope is uniquely positioned to help customers with a fully converged SASE platform," said Sanjay Beri, Netskope CEO. "We're very excited to introduce Borderless WAN, and to welcome Infiot to our growing team."

"Today, many-to-many secure optimized connectivity is required to address any user, device, and location, in combination with a zero trust approach that integrates seamlessly with Security Service Edge," said Parag Thakore, Infiot CEO. "Netskope Intelligent SSE is the industry's leading SSE, and the combination of Infiot and Netskope will deliver on the promise of SASE like no other technology vendor can."

"As we continue to transform our patient care experience, we are excited to partner with Netskope,'' said Rick Lacy, Senior Enterprise Network Engineer, CHRISTUS Health. "Netskope Borderless WAN provides adaptive, identity-aware precision access for our medical workers to deliver care from the comfort of their homes, without compromising experience, all at a significantly lower cost to our business. In the future we see many applications for Netskope, including our medical IoT deployments."

"Netskope Borderless WAN  is a new mindset. It's a new way of thinking about how our users access our domain and critical applications," said Robert Boopsingh, CIO, The Beacon Insurance Company. "For us, it will replace VPN for our employees and branch offices across our seven countries. We have implemented a zero trust model while delivering superior network access with this modern, secure, cloud-first implementation."

"This is a great move," said Frank Dickson, Group Vice President, Security & Trust, IDC. "What Netskope will now be able to offer, thanks to its compelling security platform and Infiot's technology, is fully secure hybrid-work in-a-box, solving for both networking challenges and security challenges at the same time. It's a self-provisioning network, with security that's automatic. That's not just an abstract framework or a good idea, it's a specific set of benefits and use cases for businesses."

In addition to offering Borderless WAN capabilities, Netskope integrates with key SD-WAN partners, ensuring customers benefit from Netskope Intelligent SSE in mixed environments while maintaining flexibility and choice in vendor partners.

Financial terms of the acquisition are undisclosed. Parag Thakore and the Infiot product team now comprise Netskope's Borderless WAN group, and Infiot's sales team has joined Netskope's sales organization.

Read the Netskope blog for more on today's acquisition news. Visit Netskope.com for more on Borderless WAN and the Netskope SASE platform.

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Netskope, a global cybersecurity leader, is redefining cloud, data, and network security to help organizations apply Zero Trust principles to protect data. Fast and easy to use, the Netskope platform provides optimized access and real-time security for people, devices, and data anywhere they go. Netskope helps customers reduce risk, accelerate performance, and get unrivaled visibility into any cloud, web, and private application activity. Thousands of customers, including more than 25 of the Fortune 100, trust Netskope and its powerful NewEdge network to address evolving threats, new risks, technology shifts, organizational and network changes, and new regulatory requirements. Learn how Netskope helps customers be ready for anything on their SASE journey, visit netskope.com.

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^[1] Gartner, "How to Align SD-WAN Projects With SASE Initiatives," Bjarne Munch, Lisa Pierce, Craig Lawson, 18 April 2022
^[2] Gartner, "Gartner Predicts 2022: Consolidated Security Platforms Are the Future," Charlie Winckless, Joerg Fritsch, Peter Firstbrook, Neil MacDonald, Brian Lowans, 1 December 2021
^[3] Gartner "Cool Vendors in Cloud Networking," Andrew Lerner, Arun Chandrasekaran, Jonathan Forest, Joe Skorupa, 16 April 2021
^[4] Futuriom, The 2022 Futuriom 40, R. Scott Raynovich, January 31, 2022

SOURCE Netskope