December 5, 2018 by Siobhan Climer
October 2018 started with a bang, as Cisco announced it had completed its acquisition of Duo Security. Duo, which specializes in multi-factor authentication and unified access security, is a strategic acquisition for Cisco, which has been making significant traction in the security and cloud markets over the last several years. The pivot from routers to security makes sense for the company, which also recently acquired BroadSoft, AppDynamics, and Jasper Technologies.
With the completed acquisition comes the question about what Cisco will do next, how they will incorporate Duo’s tech into their broader range of products, and what their partners and customers can expect in the coming year.
Why Acquire Duo Security In The First Place?
Cisco paid $2.35 billion in cash and assumed equity for Duo – why? The small security start-up raised $121 million in its early funding stages from investors such as Alphabet, Workday, and True Ventures. Plus, Duo quickly took a lead in the unified access security protocols, and its annual recurring revenue rose 135% in 2016. Duo offers a strategic alignment for Cisco:
Expands Cisco’s Security Offering
In recent years, Cisco has increased investment into cybersecurity, matching market drivers. Q1 – Q3 of 2018 saw Cisco’s security revenues rise 8% to 1.7 billion. Duo gives Cisco an edge in the cybersecurity market and expands its footing by focusing on edge technologies like multi-factor authentication, which is being quickly adopted by businesses across industry.
More On MFA
Multi-factor authentication (MFA) is one of the most significant market trends in security right now, with a growth rate of 15.52% and an anticipated reach of $12.5 billion by 2022. With that sort of boom comes a vested interest in investment, and Cisco is leaning on that growth to move the business out of data center hardware and into an ever-changing technology market.
The Cisco Duo Partnership Isn’t New
While the acquisition is new, Cisco and Duo had previously partnered to bring security solutions to their customers. Duo and Cisco provided integrations with Cisco ASA VPN, Cisco Umbrella, and Cisco WebEx, so a lot of the growing pains of an acquisition are already solved. That should help partners, clients, and investors breathe a little easier.
A Cisco Duo Future: Zero-Trust Security For Tomorrow
So, what does Duo do so well that makes is such a smart acquisition for Cisco?
Almost everything.
Zero-Trust
The Cisco Duo relationship is built on the zero-trust security model. Through a per-user, per-application access policy that utilizes the cloud, businesses can employ lateral restrictions. With stable security layers, internal risks are minimized, and external risks are reduced.
Cloud-Delivered Technology
Cisco Duo can deliver this unique security layering in part due to Duo’s use of the cloud to establish access policies. Employees are no longer accessing the network from their office desk. Employees – and their hardware – are on the move, so the security framework needs to move, too. Using the cloud enables Duo to provide that level of security for the ever-expansive list of BYOD, remote work, and work-from-home policies employed by innovative businesses.
Next Steps
Dr. Gee Rittenhouse, Senior VP of Engineering of the Security Business Group, summed it up best:
“This is what Duo’s technology does today. We are excited about this, but it is just the beginning. We know there is great value in pursuing integration opportunities within our existing portfolio to drive an even greater security posture. Duo in combination with products like Umbrella, Stealthwatch, ISE and Tetration will enable Cisco to provide an end-to-end Zero Trust Architecture.”
Businesses ready to see how Cisco Duo can help secure the network can rely on Mindsight, a Cisco Gold Partner, to have expert engineers and architects understand how Cisco Duo technology can impact your network – whether it is on-prem, cloud, or hybrid-based.
Contact us to find out how to implement Cisco Duo solutions into your infrastructure today. Mindsight provides weekly Demo Days to showcase security solutions that can impact your business. Register for the next Demo Day below.
Like what you read?
About Mindsight
Mindsight, a Chicago IT services provider, is an extension of your team. Our culture is built on transparency and trust, and our team is made up of extraordinary people – the kinds of people you would hire. We have one of the largest expert-level engineering teams delivering the full spectrum of IT services and solutions, from cloud to infrastructure, collaboration to contact center. Our highly-certified engineers and process-oriented excellence have certainly been key to our success. But what really sets us apart is our straightforward and honest approach to every conversation, whether it is for an emerging business or global enterprise. Our customers rely on our thought leadership, responsiveness, and dedication to solving their toughest technology challenges.
Contact us at GoMindsight.com.
About The Author
Siobhan Climer, Science and Technology Writer for Mindsight, writes about technology trends in education, healthcare, and business. She previously taught STEM programs in elementary classrooms and museums, and writes extensively about cybersecurity, disaster recovery, cloud services, backups, data storage, network infrastructure, and the contact center. When she’s not writing tech, she’s writing fantasy, gardening, and exploring the world with her twin two-year old daughters. Find her on twitter @techtalksio.
Making a WLAN Decision: Meraki Cloud or Cisco Premise-Based?