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Read the press release here.

In security, the private equity firm is establishing an increasingly provocative portfolio of solutions. Some have a primary focus on security, such as SonicWALL and Entrust. Others, however, offer benefits in the optimization of IT beyond security. Some recent examples:

• Tripwire
• NetIQ
• LANdesk

In these cases, security is either an aspect of their IT optimization capability, or is a direct benefit of IT optimization. Tripwire, for example, not only offers the ability to monitor the environment for potentially malicious changes, but also supports a discipline in configuration and change management that helps assure IT reliability and performance as well.

Blue Coat fits this profile well. Web technologies define much of modern IT, and the distribution of functionality across networks – a long-standing trend in its own right – adds complexity to Web environments. Cloud trends add to these demands, while at the same time offering new possibilities for IT and security “as a service.” Organizations need technologies to enable them to capitalize on the opportunities while mitigating the risks.

Blue Coat has charted a path that has enabled their customers to achieve these intersecting objectives. Its role in both on- and off-premises Web optimization and security give it a good footing across networks, applications and security priorities. I personally expect WAN optimization to play a significant role in integrating on-premises IT with Cloud technologies – particularly when security must be integrated inline – and Blue Coat has strength there as well.

These capabilities line up well with other aspects of the Thoma Bravo portfolio, whose investors will continue to benefit from all these trends with assets such as Blue Coat in the mix.

More to come for EMA subscribers as we size up this deal in more detail.