SASE is the new buzzword in cybersecurity and investing circles, but what is it exactly?
This thread provides a comprehensive breakdown of the evolution of this technology and explains why it will define the next cybersecurity companies:
(FYI - my Twitter is acting up. I posted this thread earlier, but Twitter removed my previous thread, and it all broke up. I've reposted it here for people that bookmarked it.)
If you've reviewed it already, ignore it. Thanks.
Let's start with the basics.
In our homes or if you work at a medium to a large company, you access the internet thru a router.
These routers have a firewall that stays in the middle to protect you + your company against malicious links/websites while accessing the internet.
According to Gartner, SASE is going to be one of the most important technologies for the next decade.
If firewalls defined the last era of security companies, SASE will be the next battleground.
The tech is complex, but this thread aims to provide a simplified breakdown (Pt 1)
When you see the ferocity of companies like Cloudflare taking jabs at ZScaler, it shows you they know important SASE will be toward defining the next era of cybersecurity companies blog.cloudflare.com/descaler-progr…
This thread will focus on:
- Explaining SASE.
- Exploring the history
Let's start with the basics.
In our homes or if you work at a large company, you access the internet thru a router.
These routers have a firewall that stay in the middle to protect you + your company against malicious links while accessing the internet.
Palo Alto Networks has built the world's largest cybersecurity company. However, its story remains untold.
@rak_garg & I spent the last few months dissecting the rise of $PANW as it races to become the first $100B security company.
Here is a summary of our thesis and report:
After founding and exiting two companies that were acquired by the founders of Fortinet, Nir Zuk founded $PANW in 2005.
This was when Checkpoint ($CHKP) and Juniper Networks (network security), along with McAfee and Symantec (Endpoint Anti-virus), were the giants in security.
These legacy providers (above) relied upon stateful firewalls that inspected traffic without any context.
Nir Zuk developed a next-gen firewall that could provide granular inspection into applications and users.
Today: $PANW has surpassed all those incumbents in total revenue!
Most tech investors struggle w/ 1 of 2 things: 1. Understanding the technical jargon behind SaaS. Or, 2. How to build a financial SaaS model
We're hosting a FREE session to help using $DDOG as a case study.
Here is what you'll get:
I'll talk about the tech behind $DDOG based on my experience in Venture capital:
• What $DDOG does / product suite (in SIMPLE lingo)
• Framework for observability & security
• How they maintain a high R&D > S&M than many SaaS Cos
• GTM sales, L&E and CAC
• What's the moat?
• Basics of a SaaS financial model
• Specifically cover customer unit economics & ARR modelling
• How the model translates to valuing a software company & market multiples
All based on his experience in SaaS equity research at Morgan Stanley.
Contrary to popular opinion, I'd argue that Fortinet is a much better business than Palo Alto Networks. I fell into this trap for a long-time until I dug deeper. I'll review five key points:
Let's review what each company does.
Both are network security providers whose foundations come from firewalls.
Essentially, if you work for a large co, they provide a layer that protects & inspects your company's internet traffic against hacks when you visit external sites.
$PANW provides its services within the three major categories below.
However, the differences lie in that PANW's strengths comes from their cloud-native capabilities in delivering networking - primarily SASE & Cloud security.