Cisco's IronPort Acquisition: A 2-for-1 Deal

Cisco systems tapped two markets--antispam and messaging compliance--with one $830 million acquisition of IronPort, which makes mail-filtering appliances.

The real coup is on the compliance front, where IronPort was positioning itself as a player in the growing information leak prevention (ILP) industry. In November 2006, IronPort acquired PostX to encrypt outbound e-mail. The product also includes compliance templates for HIPAA and GLBA.

This acquisition hints that Cisco is in the market for a broader ILP product. A robust solution must cover HTTP, IM and other protocols. With a host of young ILP companies battling for market share, Cisco will have the pick of the litter. --Andrew Conry-Murray, [email protected]