Intel is looking for a buyer for its Intel Security. Intel Security, previously called McAfee, was bought from the security firm McAfee back in 2011 for $7.7 billion (£5.75bn).
Intel rebranded the company as Intel Security, and aimed to implement its security features at chip level, giving cyber-security a whole new dimension. It seems, though, six years later, the plan had failed.
In any case, the sale of Intel Security would represent the biggest security business sale to date, so it might take a consortium of private equity backers to support. Intel as a whole has been hard hit by the declining PC market. Recently the IT giant announced plans to shed 12,000 jobs as part of plans to refocus its business around chips for cloud computing.
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When it bought McAfee back in 2010, the plan was to embed cyber-security functionality into chips. At the time Intel bosses said they wanted to make security a third pillar of computing alongside energy efficiency and connectivity.
Intel planned to embed security in a much greater range of devices – everything from smartphones to TVs and cash machines. The McAfee business it bought was split between consumer and enterprise security software and translating competencies into something that offered security in hardware and at level of chips and components was always going to be a big ask. Irrespective of how technically brilliant Intel’s engineers were a shift in the security eco-system needed to happen to make the plan live.
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According to various channel sources, the number of deployments by Intel’s McAfee is growing YoY and their competitors are feeling the heat. Also, more than before Intel security, as a firm, is found to be well-organized and motivated. The company getting sold will make no changes in the channel eco system. Some channel partners have also told that the security leader should continue their existing channel policies. Also, the security partners work as a separate division of the global leader with no influence of the parent company.