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IBM Acquires Polar Security to Secure Shadow Data

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BARCELONA, SPAIN – FEBRUARY 26: A logo sits illumintated outside the IBM booth on day 2 of the GSMA Mobile World Congress 2019 on February 26, 2019 in Barcelona, Spain. The annual Mobile World Congress hosts some of the world’s largest communications companies, with many unveiling their latest phones and wearables gadgets like foldable...

BARCELONA, SPAIN – FEBRUARY 26: A logo sits illumintated outside the IBM booth on day 2 of the GSMA Mobile World Congress 2019 on February 26, 2019 in Barcelona, Spain. The annual Mobile World Congress hosts some of the world’s largest communications companies, with many unveiling their latest phones and wearables gadgets like foldable screens and the introduction of the 5G wireless networks. (Photo by David Ramos/Getty Images)

IBM has acquired AppSec and SaaS security services provider Polar Security. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.

This is technology M&A deal number 162 that ChannelE2E and MSSP Alert have covered so far in 2023. See more than 2,000 technology M&A deals for 2023, 2022, 2021, and 2020 listed here.

IBM Acquires Polar Security to Secure Shadow Data

Polar Security, founded in 2021, is based in Tel Aviv, Israel. The company has 31 employees listed on LinkedIn. Polar Security's areas of expertise include Cloud Data Security, Data Security Posture Management, Cybersecurity, and Data Security.

Polar Security is a pioneer in the emerging data security posture management (DSPM) space. DSPM reveals where sensitive data is stored, who has access to it, how it’s used, and identifies vulnerabilities with the underlying security posture, including with policies, configurations, or data usage, the company said.

IBM plans to integrate Polar Security’s DSPM technology within its Guardium family of data security products. With the integration of Polar Security’s DSPM technology, IBM Security® Guardium will provide security teams with a data security platform that spans all data types across all storage locations – SaaS, on-premises and in public cloud infrastructure, the companies said.

IBM's M&A Activity

Today’s news marks IBM’s fifth acquisition in 2023. Since Arvind Krishna became CEO in April 2020, IBM has acquired more than 30 companies, bolstering its hybrid cloud and artificial intelligence (AI) capabilities. Many of the deals IBM completed in 2022 essentially positioned IBM Consulting against Accenture and perhaps even Kyndryl, the 2021 managed infrastructure services spin-off from IBM.

In addition to the Kyndryl spin-off, IBM sold off some assets in 2022. For instance, Harris acquired IBM’s i2 intelligence analysis product portfolio in January 2022, and private equity firm Francisco Partners acquired the Watson Health business (now rebranded as Merative).

You can see a full list of all IBM deals ChannelE2E has tracked here.

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