A few days after it announced it was buying Lacework Fortinet has snapped up data security start-up Next.
According to the company Fortinet wants to strengthen its Secure Access Service Edge (SASE) platform.
With the integration of Next DLP, Fortinet aims to bolster its Unified SASE offering and improve its standing in the standalone enterprise data loss prevention (DLP) market.
Next DLP provides a platform designed to identify insider risks and detect data exfiltration and loss, using a software agent that minimally impacts CPU performance and worker productivity.
Last year, Next DLP expanded its Reveal Platform to include generative AI tools such as Hugging Face, Bard, Claude, and ChatGPT.
Fortinet CEO Ken Xie stated that the integration of Next will significantly strengthen the company’s data loss prevention capabilities, enhancing customer management of insider risk.
Next CEO Connie Stack remarked that merging Next technology with Fortinet’s platform will “extend the reach of our leading data security solutions to organisations worldwide.”
This acquisition follows closely on the heels of Fortinet’s purchase of former security unicorn Lacework. Fortinet has highlighted the integration of Lacework’s cloud security capabilities into its Unified SASE offering.
