In a significant development today, Cisco, a prominent figure in the realm of cybersecurity, and Splunk, a recognised leader in observability, have officially unveiled a definitive agreement. According to this agreement, Cisco is set to acquire Splunk for a substantial $28 billion, which is equivalent to R530 billion.
Once the acquisition is successfully concluded, Gary Steele, the current president and CEO of Splunk, will assume a key role within Cisco’s Executive Leadership Team, with direct reporting responsibilities to Chair and CEO Chuck Robbins.
This acquisition not only capitalises on Splunk’s rich legacy of aiding organisations in bolstering their digital resilience but also propels Cisco’s strategic objective to securely interconnect all facets of technology, thereby enabling limitless possibilities.
The synergy between these two well-established industry leaders, renowned for their expertise in artificial intelligence, security, and observability, is poised to strengthen organisations, fortifying their security measures and enhancing their capacity to withstand challenges.
“We’re excited to bring Cisco and Splunk together. Our combined capabilities will drive the next generation of AI-enabled security and observability,” said Chuck Robbins, chair and CEO of Cisco.
“From threat detection and response to threat prediction and prevention, we will help make organisations of all sizes more secure and resilient.”
In today’s hyperconnected world, data is everywhere, with every organisation relying on it to run their business and make mission-critical decisions every day. Factoring in the acceleration and adoption of generative AI, expanding threat surfaces, and multiple cloud environments, it creates a level of complexity that is unlike anything organizations have faced. Organisations need a better way to manage, protect, and unlock data’s true value and stay digitally resilient.
Together, Cisco and Splunk will address these challenges head on.
The combination of these two established leaders with complementary capabilities in AI, security and observability will unlock the true value of data and will help make organisations of all sizes more secure and digitally resilient.
“Uniting with Cisco represents the next phase of Splunk’s growth journey, accelerating our mission to help organisations worldwide become more resilient, while delivering immediate and compelling value to our shareholders,” said Gary Steele, president and CEO of Splunk.
“Together, we will form a global security and observability leader that harnesses the power of data and AI to deliver excellent customer outcomes and transform the industry. We’re thrilled to join forces with a long-time and trusted partner that shares our passion for innovation and world-class customer experience, and we expect our community of Splunk employees will benefit from even greater opportunities as we bring together two respected and purpose-driven organisations,” Steele added
Cisco and Splunk’s complementary capabilities will provide observability across hybrid and multi-cloud environments enabling the company’s customers to deliver smooth application experiences that power their digital businesses.
Cisco and Splunk are well positioned to help customers responsibly harness the power of AI given their substantial scale, visibility into data, and foundation of trust.
The union of these two organisations will allow for greater investments in new solutions, accelerated innovation, and increased global scale to support the needs of customers of all sizes.
