Evident.io

Palo Alto bought Evident.io, an Amazon-only tool, and Arora thinks it was too early. Palo Alto Networks acquired Evident.io before Nikesh Arora arrived. It worked only on Amazon's cloud, and he suspects the purchase came too early. Palo Alto then bought RedLock, which covered all three clouds.

Arora uses the two deals to explain how he judges acquisitions in an emerging space. He asks whether he is convinced the space will be big, whether to build or buy, how long the target has been around and how expensive it will get. Funding conditions matter too: a company that cost a third or a quarter of today's price three years ago may be as early but several times pricier now. Quote: "It becomes a question of price, stage, and conviction."

David Senra▶ 31:25