Carbon Black and Broadcom: Acquisition, Symantec, and what’s next

Are the ongoing changes with VMWare’s Carbon Black and Broadcom giving you whiplash? You’re not alone. Here we’ve distilled the latest news on the acquisition, the merger with Symantec, and news about what’s next for Carbon Black—so you can keep your head on straight.

Broadcom acquires Carbon Black, then tries to sell it

In November 2023, Broadcom officially acquired VMWare and along with it, Carbon Black EDR and application control software. However, the deal had been in the works since May 2022, leaving customers and partners in limbo the whole way. The following month, Broadcom announced plans to divest itself of Carbon Black. Since then, it had attempted to sell the assets to a major investment firm, which it paused earlier this year.

Broadcom merges Carbon Black and Symantec

In March 2024, Broadcom announced it would combine Symantec, which it purchased in 2019, with Carbon Black to create a new business unit called Enterprise Security Group. This was intended to give customers the best of both worlds: Symantec’s data and network protection tools, plus Carbon Black’s EDR and network protection.

Unfortunately, none of the Carbon Black offerings are easily integrated with Symantec solutions, once again leaving Carbon Black customers with more questions than answers.

What’s next for Carbon Black and Broadcom

There are numerous shortcomings for both Symantec and Carbon Black, not to mention the ongoing chaos within Broadcom itself spilling over into customers’ experiences. For those unwilling to deal with the drama, Carbon black alternatives are looking more appealing every day.

Move on with ThreatDown by Malwarebytes

ThreatDown by Malwarebytes is positioned to serve customers looking for simpler endpoint security that’s fast to install and easy to manage. ThreatDown is an award-winning solution for resource-constrained IT teams. Check out our ThreatDown vs Carbon Black comparison to see how we measure up.