Cisco Acquires Neohapsis, Expanding Security Services

Cisco is set to expand its security services in 2015 with the acquisition of privately-held security firm Neohapsis. Cisco announced its intention to acquire Neohapsis today, in a deal that is set to close in the second quarter of Cisco’s fiscal 2015 year. Financial terms of the deal are not being publicly disclosed.

Neohapsis offers a variety of services, including application, cloud, compliance, mobile and network security services as well as IT risk and security strategy development. When the deal closes, the Neophasis organization will be integrated into the Cisco Security Services group, which is run by Bryan Palma, SVP and GM. Palma was brought into Cisco in September of 2012 to lead the Security Services practice. Among the services the group offers is a Managed Threat Defence Service.

Cisco spokesperson Robyn Blum told Enterprise Networking Planet that Neohapsis’s security expertise, advanced research capabilities, and specialized security tools are well aligned with Cisco’s security strategy. She added that the addition of Neohapis will accelerate Cisco’s ability to help its customers with their most difficult security challenges.

From a solution offerings perspective, Blum noted that Neohapsis engages closely with customers to address their constantly evolving information security, risk management, and compliance challenges.

“Together, Cisco, Neohapsis, and our partner ecosystem will deliver comprehensive services to help our customers build the security capabilities required to remain competitive in today’s markets,” Hilton Romanski, SVP of Cisco Corporate Development, stated.

Neohapsis CEO James Mobley blogged that he was very optimistic about the potential for his company within Cisco.

“Because of Neohapsis’s and Cisco’s shared focus on the Internet of Everything, the opportunity to do groundbreaking work together is enormous,” Mobley wrote. “Together, what we bring to enterprise customers, IoT device manufacturers, and associated service providers will be unique in the market.”

Cisco recently reported is first quarter fiscal 2015 earnings, in which the company reported a revenue gain of 1.3 percent, though there was a decline in net income of 8.4 percent.

Sean Michael Kerner is a senior editor at Enterprise Networking Planet and InternetNews.com. Follow him on Twitter @TechJournalist.