iboss Lands $145M Round for SASE Cloud Security

January 6, 2021

iboss has raised $145 million in new funding. The financing will be used to support the company’s rapid growth as organizations increasingly recognize iboss as a provider of cutting-edge network security through the cloud.

The new funding comes as the COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated the ongoing shift to cloud-based cybersecurity providers. As organizations of all sizes continue to rely more on distributed and dispersed workforces, they need cybersecurity solutions that follow the user — regardless of where they are located or what device they are using — with the same security procedures and protection that they would have in the office. The unique, cloud-native iboss platform constantly defends organizations from cyberattacks by screening and securing all internet traffic in the cloud, regardless of device or location.

“COVID-19 has exposed massive vulnerabilities with outdated, hardware-based cybersecurity solutions and accelerated the timeline of moving away from the old method of securing physical office perimeters,” said iboss CEO Paul Martini. “Implementing modern architecture that provides network security in the cloud is the best way to ensure safety and productivity, even as remote workers rely more and more on fast connections for things like video meetings and online productivity apps.”

iboss seamlessly enables a consolidation of networking and cutting-edge security into a Secure Access Service Edge (SASE) model that operates and provides cybersecurity protection in the cloud. As dispersed workforces increasingly connect to cloud applications such as Microsoft Office 365, Zoom and others, iboss provides infinite scalability while ensuring fast, secure and compliant connections. The iboss platform directly connects users to offices as well as cloud applications, eliminating the need to route internet traffic through centralized, on-premise appliances.

By delivering network security as a service via the cloud, iboss eliminates the need for expensive, hardware-based security and legacy infrastructure, which improves productivity, end-user experience and business outcomes for organizations leveraging cloud applications. The company’s proprietary architecture is built for the cloud from the ground up, allowing organizations to migrate security features and policies — such as web gateway proxies, network firewalls and Zero Trust Network Access — directly to the cloud.

“iboss has created the largest, most modern and comprehensive SASE security platform on the market and is the only platform that can fully transition organizations from on-prem security appliances to SaaS security delivered in the cloud,” said Dave DeWalt, Founder of NightDragon and Co-Chairman of iboss. “What makes this stronger is that iboss is an open security platform that allows organizations to apply the security engines and log analytics platforms of their choosing compared to existing closed SASE solutions that lack this flexibility and restrict better security due to lack of collaboration with top cybersecurity intelligence vendors.”

“We are thrilled to partner with iboss and participate in this growth financing,” said Scott Eisenberg, Head of Credit at Francisco Partners. “As the traditional enterprise perimeter dissolves, security solutions need to enable safe access to apps and services anytime, anywhere. iboss’ cloud-first solution was designed to address this transformational infrastructure shift.”

An open platform means that by leveraging iboss as the secure connectivity foundation for an organization, it allows flexibility in choice for malware engines, malware feeds, threat intelligence and log analytics solutions by allowing them to easily connect through the iboss SASE service. This results in more collaboration between the leading cybersecurity and technology vendors resulting in better protection and efficacy while giving organizations choice and flexibility as they transition into the cloud era.

Momentum Cyber served as exclusive financial advisor and Goodwin Procter LLP served as legal counsel to iboss for this financing. Francisco Partners was advised by Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP as its legal counsel.