Security Solution Provider Superstars: How Do The Biggest Partners Stack Up?

Head-To-Head-To-Head

The security market is heating up, which inevitably means the market's largest solution providers are getting more competitive than ever, with companies such as SecureWorks, Optiv Security and Trustwave vying for the top spot in the market. All three companies have made merger and acquisition splashes in recent months, with SecureWorks making the most recent move with its IPO this month. In a report about the IPO, Technology Business Research Principal Analyst Jane Wright broke down how the different players stack up in the market, by revenue, number of Security Operations Centers, employees and more. Take a look at how the three big security super stars stacked up in the report.

Overall Size

Optiv Security is by far the biggest of the three security solution providers, with around $2 billion in revenues at the end of 2015. SecureWorks is the second largest, with $339.5 million in reported revenues in its fiscal 2016, according to its recent S-1 filing. Trustwave, which is now a private company owned by Singel, last publically reported financials in 2014, when it had $216 million in annual revenue.

How They Got Where They Are

SecureWorks made the biggest recent splash, hitting the public market this month with its initial public offering. SecureWorks had previously been a wholly owned subsidiary of Dell and parent company Denali Holding, which it joined through acquisition in 2011. Trustwave was also a private company, acquired by telecom giant Singtel in August 2015. Optiv Security took a different route, merging together Accuvant and FishNet Secrity into a single security solution provider power. That merger was completed last summer. In the report, Wright attributed many of these moves to the large amount of resources needed to compete in the managed security services market.

Managed Security Services

Optiv Security had the largest managed security services practice out of the three security players, with 5,000 customers and $300 million in 2015 revenue. SecureWorks was not far behind, with $262 million in revenue from managed security services across 4,200 customers. Trustwave had $225 million in 2015 managed security services revenue from its 3,000 customers. Wright noted in the report that demand for managed security services is again on the rise, driven by advanced security services, such as threat hunting and remediation.

Number of Security Operations Centers

SecureWorks had three Security Operations Centers (SOCs) in the Americas, one in EMEA and one in APAC, according to the TBR study. Trustwave had the exact same number of SOCs in the same regions. Optiv Security had 3 SOCs in the Americas. The TBR report noted that all three security solution providers are eclipsed by HPE and IBM when it comes to the number of SOCs, both of which have double the amount of SecureWorks and Trustwave.

Key Partners

The TBR report marked SecureWorks' key brands as Check Point, Cisco, Cylance, Dell, Fortinet, HPE, IBM, Intel, Juniper Networks, Palo Alto Networks, and Trend Micro. For Optiv Security, the key security brands are Carbon Black, Check Point, F5, FireEye, HPE, Intel, Juniper Networks, Palo Alto Networks, Proofpoint, SailPoint, and Trend Micro, the report said. Finally, for Trustwave, the report said key brands include Akamai, Cisco, Fortinet, Juniper Networks, and Palo Alto Networks. Being able to support more vendor brands might help companies like SecureWorks compete better against rivals with fewer brands, such as Trustwave, Wright said in the report.

Where Are They Going?

Now that SecureWorks has gone public, raising $112 million, the company says it plans to invest in "working capital and other general corporate purposes." That could include growth initiatives, new solutions and other investments, the company said at the time. For Optiv Security, a company executive recently said it could be looking to make more acquisitions, following up on its acquisition of identity and access management consultancy Advancive in April. There have also been reports that Optiv is evaluating an IPO in the near future, as soon as the second half of 2016. As for Trustwave, the company said at the time of its acquisition in August that it plans to invest in a global expansion of its managed security services.