VMware has acquired Carbon Black, a cloud-based endpoint protection and cybersecurity company. VMware will pay $1.9 billion for the deal, and has vowed to support Carbon Black's channel partners -- including managed security services providers (MSSPs).
Rumor about Carbon Black exploring a potential company sale swirled earlier this month. The deal surfaces a few days before VMware VMworld 2019 starts in San Francisco. It also surfaces the same day that VMware acquired Pivotal Software for its multi-cloud application strategy.
The VMware-Carbon Black business combination will compete against such cybersecurity software providers as BlackBerry Cylance, CrowdStrike and Cybereason, among many others.
In a prepared statement, VMware said:
- Carbon Black has more than 5,600 customers and 500 partners globally.
- The combination of Carbon Black’s solutions with VMware’s security offerings, including AppDefense, Workspace ONE, NSX and SecureState, will create a modern security cloud platform for any application, running on any cloud, on any device.
- Both VMware and Dell will promote Carbon Black into the enterprise through direct sales, channel partners, managed security services providers (MSSPs) and systems integrators.
In a prepared statement, VMware CEO Pat Gelsinger said:
“The security industry is broken and ineffective with too many fragmented solutions and no cohesive platform architecture. By bringing Carbon Black into the VMware family, we are now taking a huge step forward in security and delivering an enterprise-grade platform to administer and protect workloads, applications and networksWith this acquisition, VMware will also take a significant leadership position in security for the new age of modern applications delivered from any cloud to any device.”
Added Patrick Morley, CEO, Carbon Black,
“Today marks an exciting milestone for Carbon Black, VMware and the entire cybersecurity industry. We now have the opportunity to seamlessly integrate Carbon Black’s cloud-native endpoint protection platform into all of VMware’s control points. This type of bold move is exactly what the IT and security industries have been looking to see for a very long time. We look forward to working with the VMware team to continue delivering a modern security cloud platform to customers around the world. Additionally, we’re pleased that today’s transaction provides Carbon Black’s shareholders with immediate and substantial value.”
VMware expects the deal to close before January 31, 2020.
