Microsoft and HootSuite, a startup backed by billionaire investor Peter Thiel, are teaming up to create a “boon-size” Cyber security initiative.
The two companies will collaborate on cybersecurity, and Microsoft’s Chief Security Officer, Adam Kroll, said in a blog post today that the initiative will “provide the infrastructure to enable Microsoft’s cloud computing, cloud-as-a-service (CaaS) offering, and enterprise-class security.”
“Boons” is a play on the acronym for the word “bonanza,” which describes the return of money or other goods in return for a boon to an entrepreneur.
Boon will be Microsoft’s third initiative to work with Hoots, which has an engineering team in the works, according to Kroll.
Hoot Suites was founded in 2015 by a group of former Hoot employees.
The company has since spun off into a new entity called Boon.
Microsoft announced in 2016 that it was launching the Boon Security initiative to help Microsoft and other organizations defend against malicious software.
Microsoft’s announcement today follows earlier in the year that it would create a cyber security team to provide security solutions for Hoot’s cloud-based computing and cloud-a,s-as a-service offerings.
Hoots announced earlier this year that its Cloud Security team had formed, with Adam Krols as CEO.
“The idea is to build the best, fastest, most secure, most private cloud computing platform available today, and then provide a security solution that makes the most of that platform,” Kroll said in his blog post.
Microsoft has long been interested in helping businesses with cybersecurity issues.
The Redmond company said in March that it will be providing a $1 billion fund for startups that develop solutions to help businesses protect their data.
In July, it announced it was offering $100 million in grants to startups to develop cybersecurity solutions.
In December, Microsoft also said it was investing $2.5 billion in cloud security companies, a $2 billion funding round for cybersecurity startups, and an additional $1.5 million in a cybersecurity fund.
Microsoft recently invested in an open source security solution called MSSQL, and last month the company also announced it would invest $50 million in cloud infrastructure providers.
The investment comes as Microsoft struggles with competition from companies such as Amazon Web Services and Google Cloud Platform, as well as from smaller players such as Microsoft’s own Azure.
