Barracuda Snaps Up Cloud Security Vendor Purewire

Barracuda Networks has announced a strategic purchase after the email and web security vendor purchased a start-up called Purewire, in an affort to expand its software-as-a-service story.

The financial details of the deal were not disclosed. Purewire was launched in 2008 and has tried to make an impact by offering web security in the cloud.

By bringing Purewire’s technology into Barracuda’s product fold, the company will be able to expand its existing SaaS and hybrid solutions and broaden its footprint in the market, said Dean Drako, Barracuda’s CEO.

“The addition of Purewire’s award-winning web security-as-a-service platform to our security product portfolio greatly enhances our ability to provide customers with the best solution for their network environment,” Drako said in a statement. “Further, this combination expands our set of SaaS-based solutions, provides new infrastructure and technology, and creates enormous potential to extend our cloud services across all of our rapidly growing product lines.”

As part of the acquisition, Mike Van Bruinisse, Purewire co-founder and Chief Executive Officer, joins Barracuda Networks as Vice President of Enterprise Sales; and Dr. Paul Judge, Purewire co-founder and Chief Technology Officer, joins Barracuda Networks as Vice President of Cloud Services and Chief Research Officer.

Barracuda Networks and Purewire’s research and threat analysis teams will join forces to form Barracuda Labs, and will be tasked with developing global threat intelligence technologies to power all the company’s product lines. Comprehensive threat intelligence information that builds upon data collected through PurewireTrust.org, TweetGrade.com, Purewire Web Security Blog and BarracudaCentral.org will be made available in the coming weeks via BarracudaLabs.com, officials said.

“The web security SaaS market is expected to be the fastest growing segment of the web security market over the next four years,” IDC analyst Brian Burke said in a statement.

“Barracuda Networks is known for bringing strong solutions to market very quickly through its expansive worldwide channel. This deep global footprint combined with industry-leading technologies and a strong team of veteran information security executives from both Purewire and Barracuda Networks puts the company in a good position to be a leading contender in the web security SaaS market.”