A new partnership between Check Point and Wiz further consolidates the cloud security market. Check Point’s own CNAPP solution, CloudGuard CNAPP, will be replaced by Wiz’s offering inside the CloudGuard suite.
Check Point says existing CloudGuard CNAPP customers will be migrated to Wiz. The rationale behind the partnership is that both parties want to tie the fields of cloud network security and Cloud Native Application Protection Platform (CNAPP) closer together. Check Point CEO Nadav Zafrir says the combined setup will deliver “comprehensive protection across hybrid mesh environments”.
Wiz versus CloudGuard CNAPP
Wiz is a quick-rising cloud security player and was even briefly in the sights of Google parent company Alphabet for a potential acquisition. It ranks as one of the most highly regarded CNAPP providers, as Gartner Peer Insight recently showed us. Alongside SentinelOne, Sysdig and Trend Micro, it was awarded the Customers’ Choice label for attaining a high level of User Interest and Adoption (in Gartner’s wording) and Overall Experience, as the analyst firm charted it.
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One of the many absentees from that list: Check Point’s own CloudGuard CNAPP solution. Customers looking for best-of-breed in cloud security would therefore end up right with Wiz to protect their cloud-native applications, even if the rest of their cloud security stack were comprised of Check Point’s suite. Competition is stiff in this area, in part because security players are increasingly linking (proprietary) services together for the best possible overview; we’ve called this process “platformization” before in a broader security context, as it’s taking place in multiple segments of IT security. Check Point and Wiz are now joining forces to provide a clear alternative to the likes of Palo Alto Networks with Prisma Cloud, described as the most comprehensive cloud security player in this arena. The solution, in other words, is consolidation to counter consolidated offerings.
Check Point does invest elsewhere
The partnership with Wiz gives Check Point breathing room for other areas of focus within cloud security. For example, the company expects to invest more time and money in cloud network security, Web application firewalls, AI technology and other components of CloudGuard. More than 4,000 customers use this Check Point service, for which the company says it protects 821 million cloud assets a day.
For Wiz, the new deal is a big win. “Bringing together Wiz’s leading CNAPP technology and Check Point’s expertise in cloud network security enhances visibility and prioritizes risks more effectively,” said Assaf Rappaport, Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer at Wiz. “Our partnership is aimed to ensure that companies can seamlessly protect their network and cloud environments with an integrated, industry-leading solution while continuing to democratize cloud security.”