Area 1 Security Continues Strong Momentum in 2021

Area 1 was acquired by Cloudflare on April 1, 2022. Learn more.

San Mateo, Calif. – January 27, 2022 – Area 1 Security today reported that its growth rate more than doubled in 2021 (268% compared to the previous year), and its partner base grew by 150%. The company ended the year protecting more organizations and inboxes than any other cloud-native email security provider — processing over 10 billion email messages annually. The company attributes its momentum to its unique ability to preempt phishing, Business Email Compromise (BEC) attacks and other advanced threats, as well as its successful expansion towards a partner-centric model.

Chief among Area 1 Security’s accomplishments in 2021 were:

• More than doubling the growth rate to 268% and growing total business by 160%, with several Fortune 500 customer wins including a top 5 retailer, a top 10 insurance services provider and a top 10 food & beverages provider;
• Directly stopping almost $253 Million in potential BEC-related losses for customers;
• Protecting more organizations and inboxes (more than 10 million end users) than any other cloud-native email security provider;
• Blocking 40 million malicious phishing campaigns and processing 10 Billion messages (an 82% YoY growth for messages processed compared to 2020);
• Issuing 68 major Area 1 Horizon™ product enhancements, including the industry’s fastest message retraction capabilities to address post-delivery phishing campaigns, advanced search and detection for deep campaign insights, and automated phish submission response to free up SOC team time and resources;
• Earning a 111% net renewal rate and 97% customer satisfaction rating, driven by continued product expansions and new services;
• Being recognized as a Representative Vendor for the new Integrated Cloud Email Security (ICES) category in Gartner’s 2021 Market Guide for Email Security; and
• Securing two new patents, one for advanced BEC detection techniques and the second in autoscaling infrastructure, bringing the company’s total number of patents to 21 across 12 separate patent families.

Area 1 Security’s latest patent (US11165859B1) underpins a more sophisticated mechanism for autoscaling stateful services in a cloud-agnostic / multi-cloud scenario. The robust autoscaling mechanism allows Area 1 to more cost-effectively detect phishing attacks and process email, using infrastructure that spans multiple cloud providers simultaneously — an industry first.

Thanks to delivering a cloud-native solution that is more effective at stopping threats than legacy email defenses and cloud email suites, Area 1 grew its Solution Provider Partner and Managed Service Partner ecosystem exponentially:

• Its partner base (including new MSSPs) grew by 150%, with partner deals accounting for more than 80% of the company’s revenue.
• The company launched “PhishU" — its new self-paced sales and technical enablement platform — as well as a new partner portal and deal registration program.
• Area 1 also introduced complimentary Phishing Risk Assessments and strategic Partner Tackle Boxes, to quickly migrate partners’ customers to comprehensive cloud email security.

Reflecting on its partnership with Area 1, Pillar Technology Partners’ CEO, Cornelius V. Spillane II, noted that Area 1’s solution “is an invaluable tool to block attacks on one of the most prevalent attack vectors today. The platform catches more phishing attempts than any other platform with which we have worked. It does this incredibly fast, which reduces the likelihood of malicious email reaching our clients’ inboxes.” He added, “Area 1’s commitment to the reseller channel has been awesome. I wholeheartedly endorse Area 1 as one of the most valuable products in our Cybersecurity arsenal.”

As a Gartner-recognized ICES solution, Area 1 Horizon uses a variety of advanced detection techniques, including NLU, NLP, social graph analysis (patterns of email communication) and image recognition to detect and stop advanced threats. However, unlike other email security vendors, Area 1 provides the only preemptive and comprehensive protection across the entire phishing attack cycle: pre-delivery, at-delivery and post-delivery.

These and other differentiators earned the company:

• The first U.S. Air Force Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) contract to be awarded to a cloud email security vendor;
• The Channel Company’s 5-Star Rating in the CRN Partner Program Guide, plus inclusion in the CRN Channel Chiefs, 50 Most Influential Channel Chiefs, Tech Innovator Awards, Security 100 and Rising Female Stars of the Channel lists; and
• The XCellence Award for ‘Best MES Newcomer’ at the Fall 2021 Midsize Enterprise Summit.

Patrick Sweeney, CEO and President of Area 1 Security commented, “The past year has been peppered with headlines of advanced threats, including attacks exploiting supply chain security vulnerabilities and record-breaking ransomware attacks. While several players have retrenched or recently exited the email security market, we’re proud that Area 1 has arisen to the challenge to find better, faster ways to intercept attacks. We will continue to push the email security market forward in 2022 and beyond.”