Security startup Illumio says it has signed a deal to have its technology added to products from Nutanix, a company that makes cloud computing hardware.
Security Startup Illumio Inks Deal With Cloud Hardware Maker Nutanix
Two companies aiming to simplify how data centers are built are teaming up.
Via Glassdoor
Terms of the deal call for Nutanix to offer Illumio run on several Nutanix products, and will complement existing security features already enabled on it. Illumio spent two years building what it calls its Adaptive Security Platform, software that allows corporate IT managers to create rules and policies that govern how their systems are secured. Its approach allows those managers to map out their infrastructure visually and then craft security rules in natural language, making it generally easier to use and tweak as needed.
It’s different from other security products in that it’s built to be agnostic to whatever IT hardware is in place — local servers, all-cloud or, as is increasingly likely, a combination of both.
Venture capital investors including Formation 8, Andreessen Horowitz and General Catalyst have gotten excited about Illumio and have poured in about $142 million. Its last round of $100 million valued it at north of $1 billion. The company also has personal investments from Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff, Yahoo co-founder Jerry Yang and Microsoft Chairman John Thompson.
Nutanix specializes in what it likes to call hyper-converged infrastructure. Basically it’s computing hardware aimed at corporate data centers that packs a lot of the functionality that’s usually separated into different components — computing, data storage and the networks that connect storage hardware — into a single concentrated device. It’s intended to reduce the amount of space devoted to hardware inside data centers and to reduce the complexity involved in setup and management. Customers include jet manufacturer Airbus, automakers Honda and Toyota and the oil giant ConocoPhillips.
Nutanix and Illumio have a similar philosophy around reducing IT complexity, says Alan Cohen, chief commercial officer at Illumio. “We’re trying to take the decisions that people have to make around infrastructure and security out of the way,” he said.
Nutanix has raised a combined $312 million in five VC rounds, and is currently valued at more than $2 billion. Its backers include Khosla Ventures and Sapphire Ventures as well as the investment firms Fidelity and Wellington Management.
Clarification: The wording above was changed slightly to clarify how Illumio’s software is being offered on the Nutanix product.
This article originally appeared on Recode.net.
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