Check Point Software Technologies has acquired cloud email security provider Avanan, which has multi-tenant dashboard capabilities for MSP and MSSP partners. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.
This is technology M&A deal number 538 that MSSP Alert and sister site ChannelE2E have covered so far in 2021. See all technology M&A deals for 2021 and 2020 listed here.
Avanan's technology will align with the Check Point Infinity solution to protect remote workforces from malicious files, URLs and phishing across email, collaboration suites, web, network, and endpoints, the buyer says. Avanan's software also protects SaaS collaboration suites such as OneDrive, Google Drive, Microsoft Teams and SharePoint, Slack, Box and more, from malicious URLs, infected files, and data loss prevention (DLP).
Avanan, founded in 2015, develops an application programming interface (API) solution to stop email threats before arriving to an inbox. The company, which has more than 100 employees, protects more than 5,000 customers and 2.5 million inboxes.
In some ways, Avanan's technology may be more MSSP-friendly than Check Point's existing software. Indeed, Avanan has a dedicated MSSP partner program and the company's software is multi-tenant for service providers.
Check Point Acquires Email Security Company Avanan: Executive Perspectives
In a prepared statement about the deal, Check Point Chief Product Officer Dorit Dor said:
“More and more businesses are moving to cloud-email platforms and with email becoming a major channel to launch devastating cyber-attacks, this acquisition represents a huge potential as organizations are looking for a new approach to email and collaboration suite security. By integrating Avanan into Check Point Infinity, organizations will be able to modernize legacy solutions with email security as-a-service and protect cloud email and collaboration suites from the most sophisticated attacks. We’ve been using the Avanan technology as an OEM for the last 3 years and I am confident that with this new addition, customers will enjoy the best email security with the best cyber security capabilities.”
Added Gil Friedrich, CEO and co-founder of Avanan:
“Avanan’s journey to reinvent email security is starting a whole new chapter. By merging with Check Point Software, we are combining Avanan’s best in class A.I. that catches the sophisticated email-borne attacks everyone else misses, with Check Point Software’s unparalleled security capabilities and threat intelligence. With Check Point Software’s global organization, we plan to bring our joint solution to all organizations, of all sizes and geographies, to anyone that needs better security for their email and collaboration suite.”
Avanan had been backed by venture capital funding. The company in 2018 raised $25 million in Series B funding from StageOne Ventures, Magma Venture Partners and Greenfield Partners (a TPG Growth investment platform).
Check Point Software: Acquisitions and Organic Channel Growth
Check Point has steadily acquired various technologies to round out its cybersecurity capabilities. Example acquisitions include:
- secure remote access firm Odo Security (September 2020);
- serverless security specialist Protego (December 2019); and
- cloud infrastructure protection provider Dome9 (October 2018).
Meanwhile, Check Point has been striving to leverage the channel much more, CEO Gil Shwed told Wall Street analysts during a 2020 earnings call.
Check Point in January 2020 announced the Partner Growth Program led by Franch Rauch, head of worldwide channel sales. The global partner program is designed to help VARs and MSSPs deliver next-generation security services and acquire new customers.
