Cisco’s security investments and acquisitions focused on secure access service edge (SASE), extended detection and response (XDR), and DevSecOps for the last three years. And as she looks ahead, Cisco Investments VP Janey Hoe expects to see continued development and innovation in application security, SASE, and cloud-native security.

With the hybrid-work model here to stay, “application security will become huge,” Hoe said in an interview with SDxCentral. As users access all different types of applications, how to secure access and the app itself creates grounds for new ideas and innovations.

Hoe said she also continues to see investment in SASE  as companies struggle to define and defend the perimeter, edge, and enterprise in distributed and hybrid work environments. She also mentioned that cloud native, artificial intelligence (AI), and multi-cloud solutions are active areas for investments.

Cisco is one of the top corporate venture capital firms and acquirers, and it has made 209 new and repeat investments across all domains over the past five years, including 34 this fiscal year. In general, the company invests around $200 million into the market annually, with an average check size of roughly $3 million to $5 million dollars, according to Hoe.

The company has invested in about 25 cybersecurity companies over the past decade and has an active portfolio of 15 companies.

Security is the most active segment for investing followed by collaboration. “In the last ... about six months or so, we’ve made six investments into security,” which are in different stages of closing, Hoe said.

Meanwhile, Cisco has acquired 228 companies to date including Duo Security (2018), Portshift (2020), and Kenna Security (2021). 

Cisco closed the Kenna Security acquisition earlier this month, and that deal was completely done during the pandemic. Kenna uses AI to help prioritize vulnerabilities and risk management, Hoe explained. “That’s the perfect kind of addition to our entire portfolio around SecureX.”