Cybersecurity Picks and Shovels
Rouzbeh@rouzbeh
−2.6%
since Sep 30
The idea
I believe in cybersecurity's growth over the next year or two, but instead of betting on the security brands themselves, I want the plumbing every defense team relies on: the platforms that ingest and search security data, the networks that filter hostile traffic, the scanners that find weaknesses, and the backup systems that make ransomware survivable. These suppliers get paid regardless of which security vendor wins.
What it owns
- Security teams run on logs and telemetry, and these companies store, search, and analyze that data regardless of which defense vendor wins. · DatadogIt is where security teams send their logs and watch for anomalies, so it gets paid regardless of which security brand wins., Cisco SystemsIt owns Splunk, the biggest name in searching security logs, so it collects revenue from nearly every large defense team., SnowflakeIt is the warehouse more security teams use to store and query years of security data, a pure picks and shovels role., DynatraceIt watches how apps behave and flags anomalies, exactly the plumbing defense teams lean on when attacks grow., ElasticIt is the search engine sitting under many of the tools security teams use to hunt through logs for threats.33%
- Attacks arrive over the network, so the companies that route, inspect, and scrub internet traffic sell the first line of plumbing. · CloudflareIt filters hostile traffic before it reaches customers, so more attacks mean more demand for its core service., Arista NetworksIt sells the network gear that security traffic runs across, the deepest plumbing for rising data and security volumes., Akamai TechnologiesIts edge network blocks attacks close to their source, and its security business is now its growth engine., F5It sits in front of applications deciding what traffic gets through, standard gear when companies harden their apps.24%
- Ransomware made backup and data recovery a security purchase, and these companies sell the ability to get back up. · RubrikIt sells the backups that make a ransomware hit survivable, the last shovel every defense team buys as attacks grow., Varonis SystemsIt watches who touches sensitive data, the layer that limits damage when an attacker gets inside a network., Commvault SystemsIt is the veteran of enterprise backup, steady plumbing that ransomware fear keeps relevant to big companies.16%
- Before anyone gets breached, scanners that hunt for unpatched weaknesses are the everyday tools security budgets quietly renew. · Tenable HoldingsIt dominates vulnerability scanning, the foundational layer attackers exploit, so its revenue grows with overall security spending., QualysIt scans cloud systems for weaknesses, the same shovel as traditional vulnerability scanners but tilted toward cloud., Rapid7It is the cheaper way to own vulnerability scanning, priced low enough that even modest security budget growth helps.14%
- Cash13%