'I'm interested to see how they become relevant again, rather than three letters associated with security' - Channel reacts to Dell offloading RSA

RSA sold to private equity for just over $2bn

Dell has confirmed plans to offload RSA to a consortium of investors for $2.08bn.

The deal, led by Symphony Technology Group, Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan Board and AlphInvest Partners, sees Dell offload the vendor which it acquired via its takeover EMC.

EMC had paid the same fee for RSA in 2006.

Dell COO Jeff Clarke said: "This is the right long-term strategy for Dell, RSA and our collective customers and partners.

"The transaction will further simplify our business and product portfolio. It also allows Dell Technologies to focus on our strategy to build automated and intelligent security into infrastructure, platforms and devices to keep data safe, protected and resilient."

Dell is no stranger to transactions in the security space. The vendor acquired SonicWall and Quest in multi-billion dollar deals in 2012, before offloading the pair just four years later.

It is still the majority owner of Secureworks, which it acquired in 2011 and made public in 2016, and also saw subsidiary VMware acquire Carbon Black last year.

Dave Rawle, jointed MD at RSA partner Bytes Security Partnerships, said the reseller still does seven-figure revenue with RSA, but added that this is almost all with existing RSA customers, rather than new business.

"Customers that already have the traditional RSA token-based two factor stick with it because of the difficulty of changing out, but there are a lot of better ways of doing it now - notably solutions like Okta and Duo," he said.

"We are seeing customers deploying those kinds of solutions now than that traditional RSA."

Rawle said that the vendor "pushed very hard in the channel to reinvent itself" around two years ago, with little success.

But he added that RSA has a strong customer base that the new ownership can build upon, as well as a strong brand in the cybersecurity space.

"It will be interesting to see the strategy to make it a frontline, relevant vendor again as opposed to three letters that we all associated with security without necessarily understanding why anymore," he added.

Stephen Love, chief consultant for security at Computacenter, agreed that RSA is still known predominately for its token-based authentication, but has not done a good enough job in touting its other offerings.

"They're obviously known for authentication but there are a number of other technologies that they deliver which we still work with, like Archer which is a compliance tools and the SIEM solution," he said.

"So we do work heavily with RSA; they're still a strong partner for us and in our top tier of partner relations."

Love added that RSA has lost ground in its traditional authentication space, with emerging vendors coming through with better technology and a more competitive price, but he added that the vendor has taken steps to broaden its appeal.

"They're in a number of areas and that's one of their challenges," he said. "They've always been known for tokens but there is other stuff there [which people aren't aware of]."

"They have also responded to [competitors] and changed their operating model and platforms to make it more future proofed."

Dell said that it expects the all-cash acquisition, which includes the RSA Conference, to close in the next six to nine months.

William Chisholm, Managing Partner at Symphony Technology Group, said: "As one of the world's elite security brands, RSA represents a great opportunity for solving some of the rapidly developing customer challenges that go along with digital transformation.

"We are excited and fully committed to maximizing the power of RSA's talent, expertise and tremendous growth potential and continuing RSA's strategy to serve customers with a holistic approach to managing their digital risk."

In a blog post RSA president Rohit Ghai said the move heralds RSA's "transition into the next episode of [its] iconic story".

"In determining the best way to support our customers' digital journeys, we sought a partner that was enthusiastic about RSA's mission; committed to our customer and partner base; and interested in unleashing the power of our talent, experience, and tremendous growth potential," he said.

"… with a more independent configuration, we expect to be in an even better position to accelerate innovation, ensure customer success with our portfolio of on-prem and cloud solutions, and expand opportunities for our partner ecosystem."