In a surprising move that has sent ripples through the tech industry, Thoma Bravo, the private equity giant, has unveiled its ambitious plans to merge two prominent Identities And Access Management (IAM) providers, ForgeRock and Ping Identity. This strategic maneuver is aimed at creating a unified entity poised to take on formidable competitors such as Microsoft and Okta in the IAM sector.
Thoma Bravo, known for its substantial investments in cybersecurity firms, including Barracuda, Entrust, McAfee, Proofpoint, SonicWall, and Sophos, has not typically been associated with consolidation. However, industry analysts believe that combining ForgeRock and Ping Identity is a logical step due to the significant overlap in their product offerings.
This announcement put an end to nearly a year of uncertainty that had clouded the future of these two IAM product lines. Thoma Bravo had agreed to acquire ForgeRock for $2.3 billion in October 2022, closely following its acquisition of Ping Identity for $2.8 billion. During this period, a U.S. Department of Justice inquiry kept customers of both IAM providers in the dark regarding Thoma Bravo’s plans for ForgeRock.
The leadership of the newly merged company will be in the capable hands of Ping Identity’s founder and CEO, Andre Durand. ForgeRock’s CEO, Fran Rosch, confirmed his departure on LinkedIn, expressing his intention to support Andre and the team during a short transition period.
While ForgeRock and Ping Identity may have overlapping product offerings, they each bring unique strengths to the table. TechVision Research’s CEO, Gary Rowe, highlighted ForgeRock’s scalability and proficiency in IoT device integration, while Ping Identity stands out as an IAM gateway with strong identity federation capabilities. Additionally, Ping is praised for its decentralized identity program.
Teixeira noted that Okta took 18 months to streamline operations post-acquisition, and there was minimal overlap between Okta’s and Auth0’s product lines. The challenges faced by ForgeRock and Ping Identity, direct competitors in the IAM space, could be even more formidable.
The key question remains: how long will Thoma Bravo grant them to make this merger not only productive but also profitable? The industry will be watching closely to see how this consolidation unfolds in the highly competitive IAM landscape.
