Here's Your Next Hot Enterprise IPO: Palo Alto Networks Files To Raise $175 Million

Security company Palo Alto Networks filed for a $175 million IPO today.
The company sells an appliance known as a firewall, which big companies put on the edge of their networks to block or monitor certain kinds of traffic to prevent malware and viruses and keep confidential information from leaking.
The company has gotten a ton of hype over the last couple of years -- it bills its product as a "next generation" firewall that does a better job of monitoring the kinds of Internet-based (cloud) apps that a lot of enterprises are moving to. (Specifically, it actually knows how to block certain applications, not just the ports that certain kind of traffic travel through.)
It's backing up the hype with fast sales growth, too: according to the S-1 filing, its revenue grew from $10 million in 2009 to $37 million in 2010, then to $85 million last year.
Skeptics might argue that Palo Alto's capabilities will eventually be duplicated by other firewall vendors.
Palo Alto Networks is facing a patent infringement suit from networking giant Juniper, which could dampen investors' enthusiasm.
The company is seeking a valuation of more than $1 billion, according to a Reuters report from March.
Please follow SAI: Enterprise on Twitter and Facebook.
Join the conversation about this story »
See Also:
- This Woman Has The Midas Touch And Now She's Solving A Big Problem With Big Data
- Larry Ellison Says SAP 'Must Be On Drugs' To Think It Will Hurt Oracle
- This Is The Secret To OMGPOP's Incredible Scaling Success
debt reduction calculator debt reduction companies debt reduction loan debt reduction software