Proofpoint has announced the acquisition of Hornetsecurity, a German security provider that focuses primarily on securing Microsoft 365, data protection, and compliance for SMEs and Managed Service Providers (MSPs). According to insiders, the acquisition is worth $1 billion. Hornetsecurity has an Annual Recurring Revenue (ARR) of $160 million.
Proofpoint’s acquisition of Hornetsecurity is a logical move. The two providers have a lot in common in terms of what they want to achieve. The main difference is that Proofpoint operates at the top end of the market, while Hornetsecurity focuses primarily on SMEs and the MSPs that serve them. Hornetsecurity and Proofpoint therefore offer complementary platforms that serve different segments of the market. This makes the combination particularly valuable in the fight against modern cyber threats.
Hornetsecurity has developed a security platform specifically for MSPs’ Microsoft 365 environments. Their main offering in the market, 365 Total Protection, provides MSPs with a unified experience for securing Microsoft 365 environments with everything from advanced email security and backup to domain fraud protection and access control. This solution fits well with Proofpoint’s own security platform, which has traditionally focused more on larger enterprises.
Together, Proofpoint and Hornetsecurity want to set a new standard in human-centric security, according to a blog post by Proofpoint CEO Sumit Dhawan, whom we know from his past as President of VMware. Through shared threat intelligence and AI models, customers and partners of both companies will benefit from improved detection capabilities against malicious actors. That is at least the idea Dhawan outlines in his blog.
Hornetsecurity will be a Division of Proofpoint
After the acquisition, Hornetsecurity will become a division within Proofpoint, where it will lead the MSP and SMB strategy for Proofpoint as a whole. Hornetsecurity CEO Daniel Hofmann and COO Daniel Blank will remain in their roles. How long this will last is, of course, the question. It is very normal for the old management to stay on. This is often a requirement in an acquisition.
With the acquisition, Proofpoint adds more than 700 employees to its workforce, 450 of whom are focused on R&D and partner support. It also adds an ARR of $160 million to its own ARR of more than $2 billion.