Google is considering buying cloud cybersecurity company Wiz for $23 billion. According to The Wall Street Journal, the deal would be Google’s largest acquisition to date. The amount is nearly double the amount paid for Motorola Mobility in 2012, and shows Google’s efforts to strengthen its strategic goals in cybersecurity.
New York-based Wiz offers “partitioned security tools and scanners” in the enterprise space. The company secures enterprise cloud infrastructure by creating a normalization layer across cloud environments, allowing businesses to quickly identify and eliminate critical risks. These capabilities could give Google an advantage, especially against rivals like Microsoft, which has been in the news for a number of security breaches recently.
Google’s moves in cloud security
Google Cloud’s president, Thomas Kurian, stands out as the key figure behind this acquisition. Under Kurian’s leadership, Google aims to take serious steps in the field of cloud security. The company has demonstrated its commitment to this area by purchasing another cloud security startup for half a billion dollars in 2022 and Mandiant, which discovered the SolarWinds attack, for $5.4 billion. The acquisition of Wiz could further solidify Google’s reputation as a secure cloud platform.
According to The New York Times , the deal is likely to happen, but there are obstacles. In the US, regulatory scrutiny and antitrust laws can be a hurdle for such big deals. The Biden administration is notable for major antitrust cases, such as the Justice Department’s lawsuit over Google’s search deal with Apple and the Federal Trade Commission’s efforts to block Microsoft’s acquisition of Activision. Therefore, the Wiz acquisition could face similar regulatory scrutiny.
Google’s plan to acquire Wiz can be considered as part of the company’s ambitious goals in the field of cloud security. Cloud technologies and cybersecurity are critical to businesses today, so it’s no surprise that Google wants to gain a strong position in this area. The company aims to both protect its existing customers and gain new ones by making its cloud services more secure.
Wiz’s solutions are based on innovative technologies that enable businesses to quickly detect and remediate security vulnerabilities in their cloud environments. This is in line with Google’s strategy to provide more comprehensive and secure services to its customers. If the deal goes through, it is expected to significantly strengthen Google’s position in the cloud security market.
However, such big deals do not always turn out as expected. Factors such as regulatory hurdles, market dynamics, and competitive conditions can affect the successful completion of the deal. Therefore, Google’s plan to acquire Wiz is not a final move yet, but it seems to be followed with great interest in the tech world.
Google’s planned purchase of Wiz for $23 billion provides important clues about the company’s strategic goals in the field of cybersecurity and the future dynamics of the market.