HP Finally Gets Serious About Security

Becoming a security player and becoming a security leader are two different things. 3Com isn’t exactly a market leader in any of its security segments. While TippingPoint is a solid IPS hardware platform, it trails McAfee and Cisco in market and mind share. In wireless security, it stands toward the end of the line against Check Point, Cisco, SonicWall, NetGear and others. And even the addition of proven firewalls won’t necessarily threaten the business of Cisco, Check Point, Fortinet, SonicWall, McAfee and WatchGuard.

Part of the reason HP is buying 3Com is to keep up with Cisco.

Cisco’s Unified Computing Strategy and deepening alliance with EMC and VMware threaten HP’s leadership position in data centres and the x86 server market.

HP, which is number two in data networking switches, is looking to pressure Cisco’s core revenue stream as Cisco is pushing into domains traditionally owned by HP and IBM. 3Com could be just enough to give HP the critical mass needed to threaten Cisco’s $1 billion-plus security business.

Here’s the bet: The first signal of HP’s security intentions will come with how it treats its standing relationship with McAfee, which is TippingPoint’s primary competitor. If HP cuts ties with McAfee, it will be a pretty good indication that it’s finally going to get serious about growing its security practice.

There are also rumors that Sophos is talking with larger vendors about being acquired. Sophos, a UK-based company, trails other security vendors in market share in network-based anti-virus, anti-spam, data loss prevention (DLP) and encryption.

In recent months, Sophos has stepped up its relationship with HP by offering free anti-virus software to HP customers who buy Integrity servers. Could an HP-Sophos marriage be in the offing? Bringing Sophos under the HP umbrella after the 3Com deal would definitely make HP a security player.