Cloud Access Security Brokers (CASB)

A gateway for enforcing data governance, data leak prevention, and other security policies on traffic flowing between an enterprise network and a cloud provider's infrastructure.

Vendor: Bitglass

Agentless CASB architecture for protecting SaaS, IaaS, and private cloud apps on managed and unmanaged devices.

Factors to Watch

• Hybrid CASB provides both API-based and proxy-based protections
• Agentless inline protection for sanctioned and unsanctioned devices
• $45 million in Series C funding from Jan 2017 funding fueling expansion in the US and EMEA

Key Executives: Chairman and founder Nat Kausik was previously a CEO at Asterpix and several other companies. CEO Rich Campagna is a former executive at F5 network who joined Bitglass as VP of products.

Founded: 2013

Vendor: Netskope

Context-aware governance of enterprise cloud usage from the corporate network, remote location, and mobile devices.

Factors to Watch

• Multiple on-premise and cloud deployment options
• Patented technology for real-time control over sanctioned and unsanctioned cloud enterprise cloud services
• Has raised over $231 million making it one of most well funded CASB vendors; raised $100 million in June

Key Executives: CEO and founder Sanjay Beri is a former VP of Juniper Networks' secure access business group and co-founder of Ingrian Networks.

Founded: 2012

Analyst Commentary: "CASBs are a crucial element to an organization’s cloud security architecture, especially as they grow into PaaS and IaaS support," says Pete Lindstrom, an analyst with IDC, who notes that Skyhigh Networks has done a good job establishing itself among the leaders in this market.

Where Skyhigh is doing a good job is in helping organizations secure the transition to Office in the cloud, email in the cloud, and other immediate priorities, adds John Pescatore, director of emerging threats at the SANS Institute. "This is the more immediate pain point for a lot of companies is making the transition the cloud. That is where a lot of the information leakage is happening."

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