Wiz’s decision to withdraw from a potential acquisition deal with Google, which would have been valued at $23 billion, could significantly impact the tech landscape, particularly for Microsoft. The CEO of Wiz, Assaf Rappaport, announced the decision, citing a desire to focus on scaling the company towards achieving $1 billion in annual revenue and preparing for an initial public offering (IPO).
This development comes shortly after a major cybersecurity issue was triggered by CrowdStrike, a prominent player in the industry, raising concerns about the state of cybersecurity across the sector. Analyst Dan Ives from Wedbush noted that the collapse of the deal was influenced by investor anxiety and ongoing antitrust challenges faced by Google, which has been under intense scrutiny and recently concluded a high-profile legal trial with the Department of Justice.
Ives pointed out that the ramifications of this deal not going through will be felt across the industry. He mentioned that Google is likely to intensify its efforts to expand its cybersecurity capabilities, a sentiment that applies to Microsoft as well. Ives anticipated that Microsoft might look to enhance its cybersecurity offerings in the next 12 to 18 months, especially following the recent global IT disruptions linked to CrowdStrike’s software update.
Despite the issues faced, Ives still considers CrowdStrike as a leading figure in cybersecurity. Nevertheless, the recent outage signals that Microsoft would benefit from strengthening its cybersecurity framework, a prospect that has become even more pressing with the Wiz deal’s failure.