How the CyberArk Deal Is Different From Past Palo Alto M&A

Gartner's Charlie Winckless on Why Palo Alto Is Breaking With Past M&A Tradition Michael Novinson (MichaelNovinson) • July 31, 2025

Unlike a startup where expectation of an acquisition defines the culture, CyberArk brings a sizable engineering organization and entrenched go-to-market apparatus to Palo Alto Networks.

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CyberArk’s footprint includes customers who likely use competitors to Palo Alto Networks for SSE, firewalls, and CNAPP, making cultural and technological integration more complex, said Gartner VP Analyst Charlie Winckless. But as organizations deploy autonomous agents, Winckless said CyberArk's ability to delegate privileges securely without defaulting to full human credentialing becomes essential (see: Nikesh Arora: Why Palo Alto Is Making a $25B Bet on Identity).

"This [CyberArk] is an enterprise-grade organization which is in multiple enterprises, including, no doubt, enterprises with other footprints from Palo Alto's competitors," Winckless said ...