The 2022 Security 100

CRN’s Security 100 examines 100 vendors across five market segments to guide solution providers on where to place their bets in a crowded market.

The CRN Security 100 list has evolved as the lack of a network perimeter in a COVID-19 world accelerated the adoption of secure access service edge, extended detection and response, and zero-trust offerings, all aimed at ensuring remote users are protected. This list examines 100 vendors across five market segments to guide solution providers on where to place their bets in a crowded market.

The need to safeguard remote and home networks has skyrocketed amid the pandemic thanks to the growth of bring-your-own-device policies along with the increasing adoption of work-from-home strategies. New network security tools such as Palo Alto Networks’ Okyo Garde aim to deliver security to remote workers’ homes and small businesses, combining hardware, software and security services into a single subscription.

Endpoint security companies have doubled down on protecting the network and the entry points that bridge internal data with externally connected devices such as laptops and smartphones. Vendors such as Cynet, Sophos and Trellix have rolled out or strengthened their XDR offerings by fusing endpoint security data with telemetry from the server, network firewall or email security gateway.

Three endpoint and managed security companies on our list tapped someone new for key leadership roles, with Trellix naming former Cisco executive Bryan Palma as its CEO and promoting Britt Norwood to global channel chief. BlackBerry brought on ex-McAfee president John Giamatteo to lead the company’s security practice, while ESET hired former Ingram Micro executive Ryan Grant to drive channel business.

Meanwhile, demand for security operations, risk and threat intelligence has been driven by the need for continuous monitoring and incident response, enhanced regulatory requirements, and issues around maintaining certifications and managing logs. Centralized data visibility is vital, with tools like Splunk Security Cloud delivering advanced security analytics, automated security operations and robust threat intelligence.

Two companies in the security operations, risk and threat intelligence space are going public, with KnowBe4 raising $152 million in an April IPO that valued the security awareness training vendor at $2.6 billion. And threat intelligence vendor ZeroFox plans to go public in the first half of 2022 at a $1.4 billion valuation by merging with special purpose acquisition company L&F Acquisition.

Accelerating digital transformation and adoption of cloud email services worldwide is making companies reorganize their email security architecture, with rising demand for phishing intelligence driving market growth. As for web and application security, tools like the Checkmarx Application Security Platform look to guard applications through built-in security, seamless integrations and faster software development.

In the data protection space, increased data volume, government regulation mandating data protection, and rising concerns around critical data loss in on-premises environments are expected to drive market growth. And in identity and access management, companies like CyberArk have rolled out new and enhanced offerings that secure high-risk access and broaden protection across cloud and hybrid environments.

Seven identity management or data protection vendors bolstered their technological bona fides through acquisition. Some of the most notable deals include Okta’s $6.5 billion purchase of customer identity and access management vendor Auth0, Microsoft’s buy of attack surface management firm RiskIQ for a reported $500 million and HelpSystems’ acquisition of data loss prevention leader Digital Guardian.

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