Blog
M&A Activity in Cybersecurity and IAM
by John Tolbert
It seems almost every week in cybersecurity and IAM we read of a large company buying a smaller one. Many times, it is a big stack vendor adding something that may be missing to their catalog, or buying a regional competitor. Sometimes it’s a medium-sized technology vendor picking up a promising start-up. In the olden days (15+ years ago), start-ups hoped for going IPO. IPOs are far less common today. Why? Mostly because it’s an expensive, time-consuming process that doesn’t achieve the returns it once did. Many times, going IPO was an interim step to getting acquired by...
Blog
CIAM as a Key Factor in the Digital Transformation
by John Tolbert
Digital Transformation is one of those buzzwords (technically a buzzphrase, but buzzphrase isn’t a buzzword yet) that gets used a lot in all sorts of contexts. You hear it from IT vendors, at conferences, and in the general media. But Digital Transformation, or DT as we like to abbreviate it, is much more than that. DT is commonly regarded as a step or process that businesses go through to make better use of technology to deliver products and services to customers, consumers, and citizens. This is true for established businesses, but DT is enabling and creating entirely new...
Blog
Ignorance is Risk
by John Tolbert
#RSAC2019 is in the history books, and thanks to the expansion of the Moscone Center, there was ample space in the expo halls to house vendor booths more comfortably. In fact, there seemed to be a record number of exhibitors this year. As always, new IAM and cybersecurity products and services make their debut at RSAC. Despite the extra room, it can be difficult for the security practitioner and executive to navigate the show floor. Some plan ahead and make maps of which booths to visit, others walk from aisle 100 to the end. It can take a good deal of time to peruse and discover...
Blog
Thoughts on the Acquisition of Janrain by Akamai
by John Tolbert
2019 started off with a very noteworthy acquisition in the identity and security space: the purchase of Janrain by Akamai. Janrain is a top vendor in the Consumer Identity market, as recognized in our recent Leadership Compass: https://www.kuppingercole.com/report/lc79059 . Portland, OR-based Janrain provides strong CIAM functionality delivered as SaaS for a large number of Global 2000 clients. Boston-based Akamai has a long history of providing web acceleration and content delivery services. Last year, they entered into a partnership whereby Akamai provided network layer protection...
Blog
Trends in Consumer Identity for 2019
by John Tolbert
2018 was a year of sweeping changes in Consumer Identity Management products and services. CIAM continues to be a fast-growing market. Research indicates that about half of all CIAM deals are still originating outside the tent of the CISO and IAM support organizations. More vendors entered the market and there were some noteworthy acquisitions. Lastly, many innovative improvements occurred across most all solutions, due in part to GDPR. What is driving CIAM growth? Businesses are realizing that efficient and effective digital identity solutions lead to more consumer engagement and a...
Blog
Cybersecurity Leadership Summit Berlin 2018 - Review
by John Tolbert
This month we launched our Cybersecurity Leadership Summit in Berlin . A pre-conference workshop entitled “ Focusing Your Cybersecurity Investments: What Do You Really Need for Mitigating Your Cyber-risks ?” was held on Monday. The workshop was both business-oriented and technical in nature. Contemporary CISOs and CIOs must apply risk management strategies, and it can be difficult to determine which cybersecurity projects should be prioritized. Leaders in attendance heard the latest applied research from Martin Kuppinger, Matthias Reinwarth, and Paul Simmonds....
Blog
Consumer Identity World (CIW) USA 2018 - Report
by John Tolbert
Fall is Consumer Identity Season at KuppingerCole, just in time for holiday shopping. Last week we kicked off our 2018 tour in Seattle. The number of attendees and sponsors was well up over last year, indicating the significant increase in interest in the Consumer Identity and Access Management (CIAM) subject. CIAM is one of the fastest growing market segments under IAM, and with good reason. Companies that deploy CIAM solutions find that they can connect with their consumers better, delivering a more positive experience, and generating additional revenue. CIAM can also aid with regulatory...
Blog
Entrust Datacard Acquisition
by John Tolbert
Entrust  Datacard ,  founded in 1969 and  headquartered in Minnesota, announced today that it  is making a strategic investment in  CensorNet  and acquiring the SMS Passcode business from  CensorNet  (originally a Danish company).  Entrust  Datacard  is a stron g brand in I AM, with card and certificate issuance, and financial and government sector business.   CensorNet  was founded in 2007  in the UK . The ir  original product was a secure web gateway. It now includes...
Blog
"Archive != Delete": Bring Back the Delete Button
by John Tolbert
Why does it seem to be getting harder to delete information online? GDPR will take effect in just a few days. GDPR empowers EU people to take control of their personal information. When in force, GDPR will mandate that companies and other organizations which control or process personal information must comply with delete requests. Users around the world are more cognizant of the data they create and leave online. Even outside the EU, people want to be able to delete data which they deem is no longer useful. Enter the “archive” button. On some social media sites and other...
Blog
Will Your Security Solutions Violate GDPR?
by John Tolbert
As the May 25th, 2018 GDPR enforcement date approaches, more and more companies are actively taking steps to find, evaluate, and protect the personally identifiable information (Personal Data) of EU persons. Organizations that do business with EU persons are conducting data protection impact assessments (DPIAs) to find Personal Data under their control. Many are also asking “do we need to keep the data?” and putting into practice data minimization principles. These are good measures to take. IT and privacy professionals are inventorying HR, CRM, CIAM, and IAM systems, which...