Axis Security

Axis Security was a cybersecurity company providing a cloud-based secure access platform designed around zero trust architecture. Its core product, the Application Access Cloud, acted as an access broker allowing employees, partners and other third-party users to reach corporate resources located in private networks from any device and location, without placing users on the corporate network and while isolating the applications themselves. The platform provided granular visibility, continuous authorization and session analytics covering user interactions with applications and data [1][3].

The company positioned the product as a replacement for legacy remote-access technologies including VPNs, virtual desktop infrastructure and inline cloud access security broker services, supporting agentless (clientless) as well as client-based connectivity, latency-sensitive workloads and multi-directional access scenarios, without requiring changes to or replication of the existing network [1][3][4]. It later offered a security service edge (SSE) platform called Atmos, which included secure web gateway and CASB functions [7]. Product integrations included CrowdStrike, Splunk and Okta, and the platform supported Azure Active Directory identity integration and log streaming to Splunk and syslog [1][5][3].

Founding story

Axis Security was co-founded by Dor Knafo, who served as CEO and had previously worked at FireGlass (acquired by Symantec), and Gil Azrielant, who served as CTO. Cyberstarts, the VC firm associated with Gili Ra'anan, backed the company from its founding [2][5].

Business model

Enterprise software vendor selling a cloud-delivered secure access/SSE platform to organizations; after the HPE acquisition, the technology was to be offered through HPE GreenLake as a single monthly subscription with no capital expenditure [7].

Not specified in the sources beyond enterprise subscription-style delivery of a cloud service; post-acquisition, availability via HPE GreenLake as a monthly subscription [7].

Traction

The company reported that within months of the pandemic's onset it was enabling secure remote access for hundreds of thousands of users and millions of connections; it employed 65 people as of March 2021 and planned to double headcount by year-end [2][3].

Latest developments

In March 2023 Hewlett Packard Enterprise agreed to acquire Axis Security, planning to integrate its Atmos SSE platform (including secure web gateway and CASB) with HPE Aruba Networking's SD-WAN and firewall capabilities to form a unified SASE offering and to add it to HPE GreenLake; the deal was expected to close by the end of April 2023 with integrated products by the end of July [7]. Axis product documentation is now published under the HPE Aruba Networking SSE brand [1].