Palo Alto closes IBM QRadar SaaS buy, extends security partnership

IBM’s managed security services teams and its security operations center (SOC) consulting groups can use Palo Alto Networks’ Cortex XSIAM suite to help customers build next-generation SOC solutions, reduce security risks, improve visibility, and achieve faster response times, IBM stated.

IBM also said it intends to expand its use of Palo Alto’s AI-powered security platforms internally, adopting Cortex for next-gen security operations and Prisma SASE 3.0 for zero-trust network security to safeguard more than 250,000 of its global workforce. In addition, IBM plans to build industry-vertical capabilities on top of Cortex XSIAM using its watsonx technology.

“IBM and Palo Alto Networks have already moved swiftly to expand their partnership, commencing work to train over 1,000 IBM consultants on Palo Alto Networks security solutions and delivering joint offerings to help organizations build cyber resiliency into every part of the business,” IBM stated.

Additionally, the partnership combines Palo Alto Networks’ Prisma Cloud platform with IBM Consulting’s global system integration and managed security services to provide customized solutions across the DevSecOps lifecycle, improving cyber resiliency across cloud and enterprise applications, IBM stated.     

When the sale of QRadar was first announced in May, Steven Dickens, chief technology advisor at Futurum Group, wrote that the move represented consolidation in a vast market of security players.

“Specifically, it marks the exit of a major security information and event management (SIEM) software provider from the security operations space (at least at the product level) and is a nod to the newer XDR offerings that are gaining ground at the expense of SIEM tools,” Dickens stated.