Sophos to Acquire Astaro to Meet Demand for Complete, Layered Security Protection

DUBAI, UAE, May 10, 2011 (Press-News.org) Sophos, a global security leader, announced it has entered into an agreement to acquire Astaro, a privately held provider of network security solutions, headquartered in Wilmington, Massachusetts, USA and Karlsruhe, Germany.

Businesses today face unprecedented challenges in protecting users and IT infrastructure from escalating complex security threats, especially those brought on by more mobile, roaming users, new application protocols, and distributed networks. There is a widening security gap for companies given the new rules by which users, businesses and IT operate and this acquisition answers unmet customer needs for better security coordination and effectiveness between users, applications and IT infrastructure.

"The combination of Astaro's comprehensive portfolio of network security solutions alongside our endpoint, mobile, and email and web threat and data protection capabilities will enable us to continue to deliver on our vision of providing complete security without complexity wherever the user and company data resides," stated Steve Munford, Chief Executive Officer, Sophos.

The market for multi-function security appliances has continued to grow because organizations of all sizes want better protection against security threats and need to support their users and distributed workplaces in a comprehensive, easy to use, efficient way. According to IDC, the market for unified threat management was approximately $2 billion worldwide in 2010, with a CAGR of 13% 2010-2014 .

Astaro, with $56 million in billings and 30% year over year growth in 2010, is the fourth largest dedicated unified threat management (UTM) provider, leads the market and has sustained fast growth due to its strong track record of innovation and robust portfolio of feature rich network security solutions. With over 56,000 installations in over 60 countries, Astaro protects business and government networks across the globe against IT security threats. The company currently has more than 220 employees in nine countries spanning three continents, including a significant presence in the EMEA region.

"Demand for network security solutions with more comprehensive and high-quality protection is accelerating fast, and yet companies are struggling with the complexity of multiple security solutions to serve these needs," stated Jan Hichert, Chief Executive Officer, Astaro. "We are excited to join forces with Sophos, as we share a common mission and passion for providing the most comprehensive security solutions that are also easy to use. Together, we will deliver to customers the ability to apply consistent security and web and application controls regardless of where the user is or where the network boundary may lie."

Customer and Partner Benefits of the Combination:
• Industry-First Coordinated Protection Between Endpoint and Network: This transaction brings two leading complementary security portfolios together to deliver coordinated protection and policy between endpoint and network. By combining policy, security filtering and information known at the endpoint with the network, Sophos will be able to provide improved security and visibility along with integrated management and reporting.
• Solutions Fuelled by Best-in-Class Threat and Data Protection and Web and Application Control: Solutions will offer complete protection to meet complex threats and malware challenges, especially from the web, applications and social engineering vectors that require full visibility and coordination, supported by SophosLabs and renowned malware and threat expertise.
• Enriched Channel Offerings: The combination of Sophos and Astaro will offer partners a complete and differentiated range of security solutions and services to meet customer needs not answered in the market today. Partners can deliver coordinated threat and data protection, and policy from any endpoint to any network boundary with solutions that can be deployed in any way: software, virtual, appliance, via a cloud services platform and backed by security updates from Sophos Live Protection for real-time, high-performance protection for end users no matter where they are.

About Sophos
More than 100 million users in 150 countries rely on Sophos as the best protection against complex threats and data loss. Sophos is committed to providing security and data protection solutions that are simple to manage deploy and use and that deliver the industry's lowest total cost of ownership. Sophos offers award-winning encryption, endpoint security, web, email, and network access control solutions backed by SophosLabs—a global network of threat intelligence centers. With more than two decades of experience, Sophos is regarded as a leader in security and data protection by top analyst firms and has received many industry awards. Sophos is headquartered in Boston, US and Oxford, UK. More information is available at http://www.sophos.com.

About Astaro
Astaro offers the most complete and easy to use network security appliances available. Astaro's award-winning products provide the latest protection with the best total cost of ownership. Software, hardware and virtual appliance offerings provide users the flexibility to meet a wide variety of deployment scenarios. Distributed by a growing worldwide network of more than 2,500 resellers, more than 56,000 Astaro installations protect business, school and government networks against IT security threats. Astaro, headquartered in Karlsruhe, Germany, offers free downloads of its products at http://www.astaro.com.

Learn more [link to: http://www.sophos.com/press-office/astaro/default.aspx]
Read about Astaro [link to: http://www.astaro.com/company]


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