Cybersecurity: Microsoft’s Azure woes and Google’s acquisition moves
That cybersecurity and its failures can impact large parts of the world was evident on Friday, when Microsoft’s Azure outage—reported to be on account of CrowdStrike, Azure’s first line of cyber defence—left large numbers of computer users staring at blue screens that did not budge, preventing work. It brought airlines, media houses and banks (among others) to their knees in diverse markets, including India. So crucial is cybersecurity now in the tech world that Google’s parent Alphabet wants to acquire Wiz, a cybersecurity startup, as New York Times reported, even if that exposes it to antitrust scrutiny from regulators worldwide.
To businesses, acquisitions are vital for growth and innovation. However, Google’s dominance in various sectors puts it on the anti-monopoly radar. If the acquisition goes through, it will be Google’s biggest ever.
It aims to acquire Wiz for about $26 billion. (nyti.ms/3LwtPFw). Google wanting to lead in cybersecurity is no surprise; this move would shore up its cloud offerings.
Its Google Cloud division, run by my school classmate Thomas Kurian, lags Amazon’s and also Microsoft’s. In the US, the Federal Trade Commission and Department of Justice are the primary enforcers of these anti-monopoly laws. The European Commission plays a similar role in the EU.
These bodies scrutinize mergers and acquisitions to ensure they do not harm consumers by stifling competition, raising prices or reducing innovation. Google is no stranger to these regulators. With dominant positions in search, online advertising and mobile operating systems, it is under close watch.
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