CrowdStrike Competitors, Alternatives, And Similar Companies
CrowdStrike Holdings, Inc. is a world-class cybersecurity company that not only provides endpoint security but also assesses potential threats and tackles cyberattacks. It has managed to neutralize quite a few top-level cyberattacks so far. You might have heard about the Sony Pictures hack back in 2014, the one that was initiated to enforce a ban on the movie, The Interview. CrowdStrike was responsible for its investigation. The company has assisted in handling several such threats, local and international.
Name | CrowdStrike |
Founded | 2011 |
Headquarters | Austin, TX, US |
SIC Code | 7372 |
Status | Public, Independent Company of NASDAQ |
Industry Sector | Information Security |
Employees | 3394 |
Trading Symbol | Nasdaq: CRWD |
CrowdStrike was established in 2011 by George Kurtz, Dmitri Alperovich, and Gregg Marston. Kurtz and Alperovich still run the company as its CEO and CTO respectively. It was based in Sunnyvale, CA for 10 years. Its headquarters were shifted to Austin, TX just near the end of 2021. Since CrowdStrike is mostly involved in helping the government, it has had many high-end investors so far. Its revenue as of 2021 was around $874 million.
CrowdStrike Similar Companies:
Palo Alto Networks ($4.3B), McAfee ($2.9B), Trellix ($940M), Sophos ($710M), Malwarebytes ($190M).
Who is CrowdStrike’s Biggest Competitor?
The biggest competitor of CrowdStrike is Palo Alto Networks. It is a huge multinational company offering various products in the cybersecurity sector. A few of its products include firewalls, cloud-based offerings, and cyber threat assessment. Founded in 2005 by Nir Zuk, Palo Alto Networks currently has its headquarters in Santa Clara, CA, with Nikesh Arora leading the company as its CEO.
How CrowdStrike makes Money
CrowdStrike’s business model is primarily based on subscriptions. Other companies can gain access to its security software by paying a reasonable subscription fee. It also provides consulting services like cyber threat assessment and removal for a considerable price. The Democratic National Committee’s (DNC) cyber attacks and email leaks during 2015 and 2016 are a great example of CrowdStrike’s workings.
Information Security
Information security is an important part of cybersecurity that involves protecting sensitive information from potential breaches. As a whole, this industry covers both electronic and physical assets. CrowdStrike is active in its electronic sector. The company provides endpoint security to various businesses, ensuring that their sensitive information doesn’t fall into the wrong hands. It also neutralizes ongoing threats and offers cyberattack investigation services.
Palo Alto Networks
A multinational cybersecurity firm, Palo Alto Networks started off by introducing the world’s first stateful inspection firewall and intrusion prevention system. Its revenue has only been growing since, and so has its product variety. Currently, the company offers network security, cybersecurity, and cloud protection services. It went public in 2012, raising over $260 million with its IPO.
Cybersecurity
As the name suggests, the cybersecurity industry involves the protection of computers and networks and their hardware and software from unintentional damage or intentional breaches. Palo Alto Networks is one of the leading companies in the world when it comes to network security. Its $4.3 billion revenue says as much, and so does its long list of clients, 85 of which are of Fortune 100.
McAfee
Anyone who uses the computer often must have heard about McAfee. It is one of the most recommended antivirus software providers in the market. Founded in 1987 by its namesake, John McAfee, the company has changed its official name quite a few times since then. It finally settled for McAfee, LLC in 2017. It is a publicly-traded company based in San Jose, CA. Furthermore, it is known to generate revenue of nearly $3 billion every year.
Computer Security Software
McAfee is most popular for manufacturing and distributing digital security tools for personal computers and smartphones, antivirus software in particular. It provides comprehensive data security with a number of other products like LiveSafe, Mobile Security, Identity Theft Protection, etc. But did you know that it is famous in business circles for its endpoint security tool called MVISION? It is a framework that protects sensitive business information from the user end.
Trellix
Trellix is the first privately held cybersecurity competitor on this list. It was launched as FireEye in 2004 by Ashar Aziz. However, it took the company six whole years to create and sell its first commercial software. It took time for FireEye to become profitable, even after going public in 2013. But after a few corporate acquisitions, it eventually raised its revenue to its current number, $940 million. FireEye itself was acquired by Symphony Technology Group (STG) in 2021, after which its name was changed to Trellix.
Computer Security Software
Trellix mainly deals in the detection and prevention of cyberattacks. Its commercial software focuses on investigating and assessing potential threats and nipping them in the bud before they spiral out of control. Its product also works against a variety of the latest malware. Apart from software production, the company provides IT security consulting services as well. Based in Milpitas, CA, Trellix has approximately 3400 employees throughout the US.
Sophos
Sophos manufactures and sells security software and hardware to several businesses around the world. It provides endpoint protection and network security to both desktops and smartphones. It primarily works with medium-sized businesses and large corporations. It also offers free and paid antivirus subscriptions to small businesses and home users. Large businesses can avail of their free facility to get a brief taste of the workings of their software. The revenue of Sophos lies somewhere around the $710 million mark.
Computer Software Security
Sophos was founded in 1985 by Jan Hruska and Peter Lammer. Back then, they only worked on antivirus and encryption software. Later, they developed Sophos Intercept X, its endpoint protection program. Based in Abingdon, England, the company has made numerous acquisitions over the years, and it was finally acquired by Thoma Bravo, a US-based firm, in 2020. The company is presently run by Peter Gyenes as its chairman and Kris Hagerman as its CEO.
Malwarebytes
As the name suggests, Malwarebytes aims at protecting home computers, smartphones, and company devices from getting infected with malware. It was unofficially founded by a high school genius, Marcin Kleczynski, in 2004. Later in 2008, he collaborated with Bruce Harrison to formally launch Malwarebytes. The young genius leads the company to this day as its CEO. Currently based in Santa Clara, CA, its revenue is around $190 million.
Computer Security Software
The very first product of Malwarebytes, developed during Marcin’s school and college years, was the home computer anti-malware system. It is said that the company made $600,000 within the first year of distributing the application. About seven years later, Marcin was featured in the “30 under 30” list by Forbes. Today, a considerable part of the company’s revenue stems from its commercial software called Malwarebytes Endpoint Protection.
Conclusion:
The Top 5 CrowdStrike Competitors: Palo Alto Networks, McAfee, Trellix, Sophos, Malwarebytes. All combined, their revenue amounts to around $9.91 billion. Their total employee number is close to 29,316. If you were to rank these organizations based on market demand in business, then CrowdStrike would fall in second place.
Competitor’s Stats:
Name | Founded | Headquarters | Employees |
Palo Alto Networks | 2005 | Santa Clara, CA, US | 11,098 |
McAfee | 1987 | San Jose, CA, US | 6900 |
Trellix | 2004 | Milpitas, CA, US | 3400 |
Sophos | 1985 | Abingdon, England | 3600 |
Malwarebytes | 2008 | Santa Clara, CA, US | 924 |