HFS Highlight: Atos scoops up AI-Driven Detection and Response firm Paladion

Over the next 12 months we can expect enterprise investment in cybersecurity services and solutions to increase sharply, in contrast to decreased spending in core IT and technology spending as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic. Enterprise leaders across the globe are coping with the growing risk of running businesses across decentralised operating models reliant on working-from-home practices.

In anticipation of this new threat landscape and an increase in demand for services, Atos has recently announced an agreement to acquire Paladion, a US-Based global provider of Managed Security Services. Bolstering its overall cybersecurity capabilities, while also bringing the firm into a developing Managed Detection and Response (MDR) market. Paladion supplements Atos sprawling network of Security Operations Centers with over 800 employees spread across delivery centers in the US, Middle East and India.

The core of Paladion’s capabilities sit with its AI-Driven MDR service, which aims to help enterprises respond to evolving threat landscapes faster, and secure vulnerabilities with its large pool of cyber experts that follow-up with high-touch 24/7 support services. According to Paladion, the firm’s platform combs through over 100 terabytes of threat data a day to find the new threats and assess their impact within the context of the business assets and infrastructure of their clients. Among the firm’s clients are large healthcare firms, manufacturing giants, eCommerce business, and oil and gas firms. 

According to executives at both firms, the intention is to combine the unique technology and business knowledge developed at Paladion with Atos broader delivery capabilities – with a particular emphasis on supporting businesses as they adopt more hybrid and multi-cloud capabilities, another area where HFS Research anticipates significant future investment.

Bottom Line: Building AI technologies into CyberSecurity is an essential step to tackling a rapidly expanding threat landscape

Undoubtedly, we will see more investment and development across the major IT Services firms as they look to support clients in managing and securing their infrastructure. Atos’ intention to acquire Paladion is likely to be one of many announcements we see in the industry over the next 12 months, particularly as the new post-COVID threat landscape evolves. Increasingly, cybersecurity businesses are deploying AI capabilities as a way to boost speed and drive improved responses to threats. 

The modern enterprise faces a raft of threats, and to tackle them must find new and innovative ways of combing through ever-increasing pools of data to understand how the risks are evolving within the specific context of their enterprise. Paladion and Atos combined offer enterprises a valuable new toolset for doing this vital activity.