How to Overcome Practitioner Concerns Over Cisco-Splunk Deal

Security practitioners are skeptical of Cisco’s proposed $28 billion Splunk purchase given the networking giant’s track record around funding and investing in previous acquisition targets.

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Forrester principal analyst Allie Mellen expects many practitioners to try out other SIEM offerings given Cisco’s heritage in hardware and reputation for being “a case study in acquisitions that don’t always live up to the hype.” Mellen urged Cisco to maintain some level of independence for Splunk while boosting investment in emerging technologies and providing guidance around operating in a down economy (see: Artificial Intelligence and the SOC: A Match Made in Heaven).

“Splunk has a very flexible, very easy-to-use offering, which is a great addition for Cisco,” Mellen said. “But customers are really frustrated with the cost. There are all these users that are now considering, ‘Well, we were making the case for using Splunk given the cost before. But now that it’s transitioning under a new brand, perhaps it’s time to look at alternatives.'”

In this video interview with Information Security Media Group, Mellen also discussed:

• How Cisco should bring its XDR and Splunk’s SIEM technology together;
• The impact of the Cisco-Splunk deal on SIEM rivals such as Microsoft and Google;
• Whether large enterprises will consider replacing SIEM with XDR.

Mellen supports security executives and professionals in building and maturing their threat detection and response strategies. Her coverage includes people, processes and technology in security operations.