In case you’re not familiar with Microsoft Azure, it is a cloud computing platform who uses a global network of data centers managed by Microsoft or hosted by its partners to allow its users to build, deploy and manage services and applications through it.
It was formerly named Windows Azure in 2010 when it was released, and then it was changed to Microsoft Azure in 2014, though you will find it referred to as Microsoft Azure Cloud Services on the net as well.
Regarding how Microsoft protects the data that circulates on this cloud computing platform, it’s worth mentioning right at the start that the company had acquired not one but two security firms already to deal specifically with cloud security. This September, Adallom for 300 million $ and last year, for 200 million $, Aorato, a startup. Both of them Israeli.
But apparently, Microsoft is taking this issue really serious, judging by their most recent, third, acquisition, the also Israeli based company Secure Islands, which they confirmed on the 9th of November.
Thought the exact sum Microsoft paid for the company has not been disclosed and only rumors of a range from 77 million $ to 150 million $ exist, the fact that Secure Islands make Microsoft Azure security better is clear, judging by the credentials it has for using its technology to keep data safe and sound, as evinced by Credit Suisse and Vodafone entrusting Secure Islands with this task.
Add to that the fact that Secure Islands already had products designed to work for Microsoft Sharepoint and Microsoft Exchange and it looks like the move that Microsoft made to acquire them was a very logical one that benefits both companies and ensures a smooth and efficient transition.
Because Microsoft will get a new division which already took Microsoft’s products into account and knows how they work, making the creation, design and implementation of future products much easier. While Secure Islands gets the chance to greatly enlarge its existing customer base, by now catering to Microsoft customers world-wide and benefiting from the resources and innovation that Microsoft has at its disposal.
The reason for Microsoft acquiring three web security companies in a relatively short time-frame is clear to anyone interested in the tech industry which has been monitoring the recent news: hacks have been taking place, breaches have been exploited, data lost and vulnerabilities revealed (sometimes by security experts themselves) on a regular basis recently.
And the frequency of such troubles as these attacks pose seems to be getting higher, not lower.
So, the fact that Microsoft is fortifying its defenses should not be seen as an exaggeration, but as a sign of maturity and justified caution to be applauded.
Image source: 1.
Michael Turner
