[octagons]

I spent 5 years at Mandiant on the “proactive” team that performed penetration testing and similar services. The divestiture of the FireEye product was the best thing to happen to Mandiant since the acquisition by FireEye. The two business units were constantly at odds.

I’m genuinely surprised by this acquisition, however. Mandiant’s business model (consulting services) was successful despite the pressures and operational dissonance from the product side. When I left, they were well-poised for natural growth and to capture a larger market share of managed security services. I’m sure there is a model for success under Google, but I doubt many of the employees below the C-level wanted to go this direction.