Crossbeam Systems

Crossbeam Systems, Inc. was a network security company established on November 23, 1999, by co-founders Stephen Justus and Mike Akerman, with Throop Wilder joining the founding team in 2000. The firm was centered on developing and manufacturing network security products.

The company's core offering was the X-Series platform, a hardware and software architecture designed to consolidate and virtualize security infrastructures for large-scale clients. This platform allowed enterprises and service providers to run multiple security applications from various vendors—such as Check Point, McAfee, and Sourcefire—on a single, high-performance chassis. The key components included the chassis, a proprietary operating system, and a series of hardware blades for network and application processing. This approach created a 'network in a box' that aimed to manage risk, ensure compliance, and defend against evolving digital threats for its clients, which included major telecommunications operators like Telefónica and BT, as well as large enterprises such as Volkswagen Group.

Over its history, Crossbeam secured significant venture capital, raising a total of $100 million over three rounds from investors including North Bridge Venture Partners, Matrix, and Tudor Funds. A later funding round in February 2008 raised $3.5 million. The company's trajectory culminated in two acquisitions in late 2012. First, private equity firm Thoma Bravo acquired Crossbeam in November 2012. Shortly after, in December 2012, Blue Coat Systems announced its acquisition of Crossbeam, a deal that was finalized by the end of that year. Both Crossbeam and Blue Coat were portfolio companies of Thoma Bravo at the time. The acquisition led to the full absorption of the Crossbeam brand and its technology into Blue Coat, which was later acquired by Symantec.

Keywords: network security, security virtualization, X-Series platform, chassis-based security, application processing, network processing, data center security, enterprise network security, service provider security, Thoma Bravo, Blue Coat Systems, security appliance consolidation, virtualized security infrastructure, unified threat management, firewall consolidation, intrusion prevention systems, risk management technology