Microsoft to strengthen cloud security with latest acquisition

The growing popularity of cloud services and the move of critical apps from in-house data centers is putting pressure on vendors to offer more advanced management tools. With the acquisition of Adallom, Microsoft is addressing the security part of that puzzle.

The financial details of the deal were not announced.

Adallom expands on Microsoft’s existing identity offerings, among other things adding a cloud access security broker, to give customers visibility and control over application access as well as critical data stored across cloud services, Microsoft said in a blog post on Tuesday.

Adallom promises that SaaS applications can be as secure as on-site applications. The software offers the ability to monitor privileged user accounts, prevent data leaks and protect the sharing of confidential corporate data. The company's platform can also help with regulatory and compliance mandates for data in the cloud, according to the company's website. 

In addition to Office 365, Adallom's software can also be used to protect cloud applications including Salesforce, Box, Dropbox, ServiceNow and Ariba.

Microsoft doesn't provide many details on what its plans are for the company, only saying that Adallom will complement existing offerings that are part of Office 365 and the Enterprise Mobility Suite (EMS), including the recent Advanced Threat Analytics release. 

Adallom also works with Amazon Web Services. It may continue to do so, since Microsoft under CEO Satya Nadella has become more open to working with vendors it also competes with.

Adallom, which was co-founded in 2012 by Assaf Rappaport, Ami Luttwak and Roy Reznik, will continue to evolve, build technology, sell solutions and work with customers as the integration is completed, Microsoft said.

"This is just the beginning and we’re excited for what the future has in store. We look forward to having you join us for this next chapter," Rappaport said in a blog post.

Adallom is an abbreviation of the Hebrew saying “Ad Halom” which literally means “up to here” and in game theory lingo means “the last line of defense,” according to Adallom's website.