Promisec: Securing Networks from Within

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The company's big breakthrough came in February of this year, when it was awarded a multimillion dollar contract by the State of Texas to supply security management for more than a million endpoints across all state agencies. Promisec beat out such rivals as Microsoft (MSFT), IBM (IBM), and Symantec for the deal. "This is an extremely important victory for such a small company and proves it can compete in a market comprised mostly of giants," says Dan Yachin, IDC's Tel Aviv-based research director for emerging technologies.

aiming to emulate Checkpoint

The Texas contract established Promisec as a new force in security. "A contract of this scale opens doors and puts us on the radar," Kotler says. "It will enable us to compete all over the U.S. for similar contracts in the public and private sectors." Promisec counts among its customers General Electric (GE), France's Credit Agricole (CRARY), German insurance giant Allianz (AZSEY), New York law firm Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom, and billing software company Amdocs (DOX). The company now gets about 60 percent of sales from the U.S.

Kotler hopes eventually to take Promisec public. His role model is Check Point, which logged 2009 sales of $924 million and has retained its headquarters and a large part of its operations in Israel. Remaining independent could be a challenge. Frost & Sullivan's Avitan calls Promisec one of a handful of Israeli security startups that have a chance of making it big. Over the years, however, most successful local security firms have been gobbled up by foreign companies interested in getting their hands on Israeli technology.

"The global security industry is going through a period of consolidation," says IDC analyst Yachin. "It's hard to see how Promisec can survive as a standalone company." In just the past few months, Symantec has shelled out $1.7 billion for three separate acquisitions. With major players in the Internet security field paying close attention to Promisec these days, the Israeli startup looks on a fast path to success—but may find it impossible to follow in Check Point's footsteps.

Sandler is a correspondent for BusinessWeek in Jerusalem.

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