Zero Trust, AI, Capital Markets Drive Consolidation in Cloud Security

The report describes accelerating consolidation in cloud security as vendors expand zero-trust and AI/ML capabilities, citing early-2024 acquisitions by Delinea (Authomize), SentinelOne (PingSafe), and SonicWall (Banyan Security), along with Cisco’s prior buys. Analysts from Gartner and the Cloud Security Alliance attribute the trend to rapid cloud adoption, the need for integrated visibility and detection, and tighter capital markets, while forecasting greater practical AI use for threat detection and response. The piece concludes that outcomes will depend on effective post-acquisition integration to deliver broader, cohesive platforms rather than single-vendor lock-in.