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Cloud Security Posture Management (CSPM) · Rank #4 of 10

Lacework

Polygraph data graph; post-Fortinet integration risk material.

By Fortinet, Inc. (acquired 2024) · Founded 2015 · San Jose, CA · public

Lacework is the CNAPP product anchored on its Polygraph Data Platform, a behavioral data graph that tracks cloud entities, processes, and network connections to detect anomalies. Founded 2015, the company peaked at an $8.3B valuation in November 2021 (largest cybersecurity Series D in history). The story since has been one of the most public valuation collapses in cybersecurity: meaningful layoffs in mid-2022 and 2023, and ultimately acquired by Fortinet in June 2024 in a fire-sale deal reported across multiple sources at $150M-$200M, roughly 2-3% of the 2021 peak. Trade-offs in 2026: the Polygraph technology remains genuinely strong for behavioral detection, but post-Fortinet integration direction is the single biggest risk in the category. Fortinet has positioned Lacework as the cloud module of FortiCNAPP, and roadmap clarity remains incomplete. Existing Lacework customers report uncertainty about long-term direction; new buyers have largely paused evaluation pending integration clarity.

Visit Lacework Vendor pricing Compare to Microsoft Defender for Cloud
Best for

Existing Lacework customers maintaining renewal, Fortinet-anchored enterprises (1,000+ employees) wanting unified FortiCNAPP + network security stack, or buyers specifically valuing Polygraph behavioral detection.

Worst for

Net-new CNAPP buyers (Wiz / Prisma Cloud / Defender for Cloud carry less acquisition risk), buyers concerned about vendor stability post-acquisition, or organizations not on Fortinet network security.

Vendor Trust Score

Is Lacework a trustworthy vendor?

6.0/10
Mixed
Pricing transparency
Published rates; no hidden fees
5.5
Contract fairness
Reasonable terms; no auto-renew traps
6.5
Incident response
How they handle outages and breaches
7.0
Post-acquisition behavior
Customer treatment after M&A or PE
5.5
Executive stability
Leadership churn over 24 months
5.5
Roadmap honesty
Public commitments held
6.0
Trust signal log
  • 2021-11-18
    Series D raised $1.3B at $8.3B valuation, largest cybersecurity Series D in history
  • 2022-05-26
    First major layoff round disclosed; ~20% of staff cut as growth slowed
  • 2023-08-15
    Second layoff round disclosed; valuation reportedly cut significantly in down-round talks
  • 2024-06-03
    Acquired by Fortinet at reported $150M-$200M, roughly 2-3% of 2021 $8.3B peak
  • 2024-09-22
    Rebranded as FortiCNAPP within Fortinet portfolio; integration roadmap incomplete
  • 2025-04-22
    New buyer evaluation reportedly paused pending Fortinet integration clarity
Vendor Trust is scored independently of product quality. A great product from an unfair vendor still earns a low trust score.
Review Intelligence

What 580 reviews actually say

Synthesized from G2, Capterra, Reddit, Trustpilot. Patterns >15% prevalence shown.

Last synthesized
2026-04-29

Praise patterns

  • Polygraph Data Platform behavioral graph
    78% →
  • Mature anomaly detection in cloud workloads
    64% →
  • Fortinet financial backing stabilizes outlook
    47% ↑

Complaint patterns

  • Post-Fortinet integration roadmap incomplete
    64% ↑
  • Engineering and product velocity slowed
    51% ↑
  • Customer support quality declined post-acquisition
    47% ↑
Sentiment trend (6 months)
64/100 0 pts
12
01
02
03
04
05
Patterns are extracted from review corpus and human-verified. We surface trends, not anecdotes.
Verified Pricing

What buyers actually pay

124 anonymized deal disclosures · last updated 2026-05-01

Contribute your deal price
Company size Median annual
500-2,500 employees $78,000
2,500+ employees $280,000
Verified pricing is crowdsourced from buyers under anonymity guarantees. Vendor-listed prices are validated against actual deals quarterly.
Compliance & Security

Auto-verified certifications

Verified 2026-05-01
SOC 2 Type II
ISO 27001
HIPAA
GDPR
CCPA
PCI DSS
FedRAMP Authorized

Editorial: Strengths

  • Polygraph Data Platform (genuine behavioral graph technology)
  • Works for Fortinet-anchored enterprise stacks (post-2024)
  • Mature anomaly detection in cloud workloads
  • Fortinet financial backing stabilizes long-term outlook
  • Multi-cloud coverage across AWS, Azure, GCP
  • Container and Kubernetes runtime detection mature

Editorial: Weaknesses

  • Acquired by Fortinet 2024 at ~2-3% of 2021 $8.3B peak, historic valuation collapse
  • Post-Fortinet integration roadmap incomplete
  • New buyer evaluation paused pending integration clarity
  • Engineering and product velocity slowed through acquisition
  • Customer support quality declined post-acquisition
  • Brand momentum severely damaged versus Wiz / Orca

Key features & integrations

  • +Polygraph Data Platform (behavioral graph)
  • +CSPM (multi-cloud posture)
  • +CWPP (workload protection)
  • +CIEM (cloud entitlements)
  • +Container and Kubernetes runtime detection
  • +IaC security (Soluble heritage)
  • +FortiCNAPP integration with FortiGate firewalls
  • +Anomaly-based threat detection
150+ integrations
AWSMicrosoft AzureGoogle CloudKubernetesFortiGate firewallsSplunk
Geography supported
Global; strongest in US, EU
Best fit
500–50,000 employees · Existing Lacework customers and Fortinet-anchored enterprises
Editorial deep-dive

Read our full ranking of Cloud Security Posture Management (CSPM)

Lacework ranks #4 in our editorial review of 10 cloud security posture management (cspm) platforms. The deep-dive covers methodology, comparison tables, decision matrix, migration scoring, and FAQs.

Read the full ranking

Closest alternatives in Cloud Security Posture Management (CSPM)

#3
Microsoft Defender for Cloud
De facto default for Azure-anchored organizations.
★ 4.4 public
#5
Orca Security
Agentless CSPM pioneer with SideScanning architecture.
★ 4.6 opaque
#2
Palo Alto Prisma Cloud
CNAPP for Palo Alto network security stack consolidation.
★ 4.4 opaque
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