INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
Cloudflare announced that it has acquired S2 Systems, a browser isolation startup founded by former Microsoft execs
The two companies did not reveal the acquisition price.Matthew Prince, co-founder and CEO at Cloudflare, says that this acquisition is part
of a new suite of products called Cloudflare for Teams, which has been designed to protect an organization from threats on the internet
S2 developed a solution specifically to help prevent browser-based code attacks.Prince said the company had been thinking for some time
about how to incorporate this kind of technology into the Cloudflare family of products
As with many companies, it had to decide if it should partner, build or acquire a company
Prince says that when he met the founding team from S2 and tested its technology, he was impressed with the speed and execution.The team
felt like a good fit, so Cloudflare made an offer
It had to bid against some other companies (which he did not name), but in the end S2 chose Cloudflare
board, and we think that combining their better browser isolation technology with our ubiquitous network, we can really redefine how
enterprises protect their employees, and over the long term how people generally browse the internet, where we can make it so that a low-end
burden off of the phone or other device.The acquisition does not stand in isolation though
This is designed to provide a set of protections that includes S2 browser isolation as well as VPN and identity protection.There are two
main pieces to Cloudflare for Teams: Cloudflare Access and Cloudflare Gateway
Access is a Zero Trust identity and access management tool designed to help companies ensure their employees are using the most up-to-date
software on their devices.Gateway is designed to protect companies and individuals from threats on the internet, which is where S2 fits in
The company offers three versions: Gateway, which includes DNS-based filtering and audit logging; Gateway Pro, which secures all
internet-bound traffic; and Gateway Enterprise, which helps prevent data loss and includes the browser isolation tech from S2.The S2
acquisition closed on December 31st
to establish a Cloudflare office there
The company was in stealth prior to the acquisition.
