ExtraHop Layoffs 2022: Security Partner Push Continues Amid Targeted Staff Cuts -

ExtraHop Networks Inc. has laid off a small number of employees as part of the security company's continued shift toward more channel and distribution partnerships, Seattle Inno reported.

Private equity firms Bain Capital and Crosspoint Capital Partners acquired ExtraHop for $900 million in June 2021.

ExtraHop, founded in 2007, develops a cloud-based security platform to help enterprises detect and response to threats. ExtraHop offers security capabilities for Amazon Web Services, Microsoft Azure, Google Cloud Platform and more. The cloud-based platform can also take inventory of all devices, while monitoring sensitive data movements throughout customer networks, the company said.

ExtraHop Headcount Amid Recession Worries

ExtraHop did not disclose current headcount figures or staff cut figures, but the security company's overall employee ranks have grown 30% this year, the report said. The Seattle, Washington-based company has 678 employees listed on LinkedIn.

In an email to Seattle Inno, ExtraHop VP of HR Sweety Rath wrote:

"We are shifting our sales development function to better support our overall go-to-market strategy, including doubling down on our channel and distribution partnerships around the globe. These changes impacted a small percentage of the overall ExtraHop workforce."

ExtraHop made channel-centric moves earlier this year. Key updates included:

May 2022: Hiring Duncan Butchart as its area vice president for Northern EMEA (Europe, Middle East and Africa). Butchart will help ExtraHop expand its operations and foster channel and customer partnerships within the region, the company said.
April 2022: Hiring Ivanti veteran Karl Werner as area vice president for central and southern Europe.

The ExtraHop partner program, known as Panorama, promotes opportunities for VARs, global alliance partners, service providers (MSPs, MSSPs and MDR providers), and MSPs as resale partners.

Technology Industry Layoffs and Recession Fears

The ExtraHop layoffs reflect continued job cuts across technology companies of all sizes. Indeed, layoff news from Oracle, SAP and Intel also surfaced this week. Earlier in 2022, security companies such as Cybereason, Lacework, OneTrust and Snyk also executed various layoffs.

The job cuts come amid continued speculation about a potential recession. A recession typically is defined as two quarters of negative economic growth along with other factors such as a widespread job losses, CNBC notes.

Amid that backdrop, the IPO (initial public offering) window generally remains closed on Wall Street, and venture capital firms are pulling back on high-valuation deals. As a result, some companies are pursuing debt financing as a bridge to a potential IPO and/or future VC funding rounds. For instance, security firms Arctic Wolf and Huntress both raised debt financing in mid-2022.