Splunk
| Company type | Subsidiary |
|---|---|
| Industry | Software |
| Founded | 2003 |
| Founder | Michael Baum, Rob Das, Erik Swan |
| Headquarters | San Francisco, California , United States |
Area served | Worldwide |
Key people | Gary Steele (CEO and General Manager) |
| Products | Splunk Cloud, Splunk Enterprise, Splunk SOAR, Splunk Enterprise Security, Splunk IT Service Intelligence (ITSI), Splunk O11y, Splunkbase, VictorOps |
| Parent | Cisco |
Splunk Inc. is a U.S.-based software enterprise located in San Francisco, California, specializing in solutions for searching, monitoring, and analyzing machine-generated data via an interface resembling the web. Now operating as a subsidiary of Cisco, Splunk’s platform collects, indexes, and correlates live data into a searchable database, facilitating the generation of visualizations such as graphs, alerts, dashboards, reports, and other analytics. Its suite of offerings includes Splunk Cloud, Splunk Enterprise, Splunk SOAR, Splunk Enterprise Security, Splunk IT Service Intelligence (ITSI), Splunk O11y, Splunkbase, and VictorOps.
The company’s products concentrate on SIEM, SOAR (Security Orchestration, Automation, and Response), and observability, utilizing machine data to detect trends, measure performance, troubleshoot problems, and supply actionable insights for business processes. These technologies are applied across diverse sectors including application management, security, compliance, as well as business intelligence and web analytics.
In September 2023, Cisco revealed its intention to acquire Splunk in an all-cash transaction valued at $28 billion, which was finalized on March 18, 2024.
Founding & early years
Splunk Inc. was established in 2003 by Michael Baum, Rob Das, and Erik Swan with financial backing from venture capital firms such as August Capital and Ignition Partners. By 2007, the company had secured significant funding and achieved profitability by 2009. Its initial public offering took place on the NASDAQ stock exchange in 2012 under the ticker symbol SPLK.
Company growth
In September 2013, Splunk expanded its capabilities by acquiring BugSense, a firm specializing in mobile device analytics that provided cloud-based SDKs to help developers enhance application performance. Later that year, it purchased Cloudmeter, a company focused on capturing network data. In June 2015, Splunk acquired Metafor to utilize machine learning for analyzing IT infrastructure data. This was followed by a $190 million acquisition of Caspida, a cybersecurity startup, in July.
October 2015 marked the formation of a cybersecurity partnership between Splunk and Booz Allen Hamilton Inc., integrating cyber threat detection with intelligence technologies. In 2016, Splunk pledged $100 million over a decade to support nonprofits and educational institutions through software licenses, training programs, and technical assistance.
By April 2017, Glassdoor recognized Splunk as the fourth highest-paying employer in the United States. The following month saw the acquisition of Drastin to enhance enterprise search analytics. In September 2017, the company acquired SignalSense for its cloud-based breach detection technology while simultaneously intensifying its focus on machine learning applications.
In October 2017, Splunk obtained technology assets from competitor Rocana. On April 9, 2018, it completed a $350 million acquisition of Phantom Cyber Corporation. That same month witnessed its market capitalization reaching $14.8 billion. June 2018 included the $120 million purchase of VictorOps, a startup specializing in DevOps incident management. The acquisition of KryptonCloud—a provider of industrial IoT and analytics SaaS—occurred in July 2018.
In October 2019, Splunk acquired SignalFx for $1.05 billion to bolster cloud monitoring capabilities; shortly afterward it also bought Omnition, a startup focused on distributed tracing. Around this time, Splunk launched its corporate venture capital division—Splunk Ventures—with an initial $150 million fund dedicated equally to technological innovation and social impact investments aimed at early-stage companies.
Recent developments
For the fourth quarter of fiscal year 2021, Splunk recorded revenues amounting to $745.1 million, culminating in an annual total of $2.23 billion. On November 15, 2021, Doug Merritt resigned from his role as CEO, with chairman Graham Smith stepping in as the interim chief executive. Subsequently, in April 2022, Gary Steele, previously with Proofpoint, was appointed as the new CEO.
Acquisition by Cisco
Cisco disclosed on September 21, 2023, its intention to acquire Splunk in an all-cash transaction valued at $28 billion. Following earlier workforce reductions, Splunk implemented an additional 7% staff cut in November 2023; CEO Gary Steele emphasized that these layoffs were independent of the acquisition process. In April 2024, Splunk prevailed in a copyright infringement lawsuit against competitor Cribl Inc., being awarded nominal damages of $1.
The acquisition was finalized in March 2024, representing Cisco’s largest purchase to date. At that point, Splunk possessed a portfolio of 1,100 patents and served prominent clients such as Singapore Airlines, Papa John's, Heineken, and McLaren. The leadership team remained intact and pricing structures were maintained post-acquisition. In May 2024, Gary Steele advanced to a Cisco executive position while continuing to serve as Splunk’s general manager. After the acquisition, Cisco integrated its observability product development efforts—including Cisco AppDynamics software—into Splunk’s operations.
Products
Splunk’s flagship solution aggregates and analyzes vast amounts of machine-generated data through a lightweight agent that collects log entries from files, TCP/UDP syslog sources, or APIs connected to diverse applications and devices. Initially created to troubleshoot and monitor distributed applications via log data, the platform has since expanded into a versatile data analytics system.
Splunk Enterprise Security (ES) is a high-end security information and event management (SIEM) product offered under a separate license. It processes machine data originating from networks, endpoints, access controls, malware detection systems, vulnerability scanners, and identity management sources.
In 2011, Splunk introduced Splunk Storm, a cloud-hosted service providing managed log management capabilities. By 2013, this service became available free of charge and was complemented by Splunk Cloud, a more comprehensive cloud platform offering. However, Splunk Storm was discontinued in 2015 to concentrate efforts on broader cloud initiatives.
The launch of Hunk: Splunk Analytics for Hadoop in 2013 enabled users to query and report on external Hadoop datasets directly from the Splunk interface—significantly enhancing its big data analytics capacity.
In 2015, Splunk released a cost-effective Light edition aimed at smaller IT environments and mid-market enterprises. That same year saw the debut of Splunk IT Service Intelligence (ITSI), which delivers IT operations visibility through anomaly detection and root cause analysis capabilities.
The Splunk Security Orchestration, Automation and Response (SOAR) platform offers a free community edition that permits up to 100 automated actions daily to streamline incident response workflows across cloud-based, on-premises, or hybrid infrastructures.
Transition to cloud
In 2016, Google announced collaboration integrating its cloud platform with Splunk to enhance IT operations management, security monitoring, and compliance solutions. Concurrently, machine learning functionalities were expanded across multiple key products on this platform. In 2019, Splunk Cloud achieved FedRAMP moderate authorization status enabling federal government sales. This partnership allows customers to utilize Google’s AI and ML services powered by data processed through Splunk. By integrating with Google Anthos and Google Cloud Security Command Center, Splunk facilitates seamless data exchange across various cloud applications. To support multi-cloud environments, Splunk introduced its Observability Cloud—a unified suite combining infrastructure monitoring, application performance tracking, digital experience monitoring, log analytics, and incident response capabilities. In 2020, Splunk Cloud became available on Google Cloud Platform alongside a strategic alliance with Amazon Web Services aimed at migrating on-premises workloads to AWS cloud infrastructure.
In 2017, the company launched Splunk Insights for ransomware—an analytics solution designed for smaller organizations such as educational institutions—enabling threat evaluation through event log ingestion. Additionally that year saw the release of Splunk Insights for AWS Cloud Monitoring to facilitate enterprise transitions to Amazon Web Services.
The introduction of Splunk Industrial Asset Intelligence occurred in 2018 to extract actionable alerts from Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) datasets.
In 2019, new platform features included Data Fabric Search and Data Stream Processor. Data Fabric Search consolidates disparate datasets into a unified view by generating data structures dynamically upon query execution. Data Stream Processor supports real-time data ingestion and distribution with role-based access controls for alerts and reporting functions. A subsequent update in 2020 enhanced real-time processing capabilities across multiple cloud platforms. The same year also marked the launch of Splunk Connected Experiences—extending analytics accessibility to augmented reality (AR), mobile devices, and applications.
Also in 2020 came the release of Enterprise version 8.1 along with a Cloud edition incorporating stream processing technology, machine learning enhancements, and multi-cloud compatibility.
In October 2019, security tools including SIEM capabilities, user behavior analytics (UBA), and security orchestration automation (Splunk Phantom) were consolidated into the newly introduced Splunk Mission Control platform.
Furthermore in 2019, SignalFx Microservices APM was unveiled for application performance monitoring featuring “no-sample” monitoring combined with Omnition’s full-fidelity tracing technology. Kubernetes Navigator was added to SignalFx Infrastructure Monitoring to improve oversight of cloud-native applications.
Splunkbase
Splunkbase serves as a community platform hosted by Splunk, offering a wide range of apps and add-ons designed to extend Splunk’s capabilities and deliver customized interfaces tailored to particular use cases and vendor solutions. By October 2019, the platform featured more than 2,000 available apps.
Notable integrations include the Splunk App for New Relic, the ForeScout Extended Module for Splunk, and the Splunk App for AWS.
McLaren
In 2020, Splunk was named the official technology partner of the McLaren Formula One team, supporting them with data analytics to enhance race performance. This formal partnership followed several years of collaboration, during which Splunk analyzed data from approximately 300 sensors installed on each McLaren racecar.
The alliance broadened Splunk’s role across the McLaren Group, including providing data insights for McLaren’s e-sports division. As part of this agreement, Splunk’s logo was displayed on the sidepod and cockpit surrounds of the MCL35 Formula One car.
Trek-Segafredo
In November 2018, Splunk entered into a sponsorship agreement with Trek-Segafredo, a professional road cycling team, starting in 2019. Taking over from CA Industries as the team’s technology partner, Splunk delivers sophisticated data analytics services for riders, coaches, and support staff. The company’s branding is featured on team jerseys, bicycles, and official vehicles, while also participating in Trek’s race hospitality initiatives.