Image of Splunk

Splunk

Organization

Data analytics software company acquired by Cisco for $20 billion.


First Mentioned

2/22/2026, 6:40:48 AM

Last Updated

2/22/2026, 6:42:49 AM

Research Retrieved

2/22/2026, 6:42:49 AM

Summary

Splunk Inc. is a San Francisco-based software company specializing in the analysis of machine-generated data for operational intelligence, security, and observability. Founded in 2003, it provides a platform for searching, monitoring, and visualizing real-time data through tools like SIEM and SOAR. The company's technology is widely used for application management, compliance, and business analytics. In a major industry consolidation, Cisco announced its intent to acquire Splunk in September 2023, a transaction that was finalized on March 18, 2024, for approximately $28 billion.

Referenced in 1 Document
Research Data
Extracted Attributes
  • Founded

    2003

  • Founders

    Rob Das and Eric Swan

  • Industry

    Software, Big Data, Cybersecurity

  • Headquarters

    San Francisco, California, USA

  • Key Products

    Splunk Enterprise, Splunk Cloud, Splunk Enterprise Security (SIEM), Splunk SOAR, Splunk Observability Cloud

  • Parent Company

    Cisco

  • Acquisition Value

    $28 billion (Note: Document 0ec8558c cites $20 billion)

Timeline
  • Splunk is founded by Rob Das and Eric Swan to address 'information caves' in organizations. (Source: Fortinet CyberGlossary)

    2003-01-01

  • The first version of Splunk software is launched. (Source: Fortinet CyberGlossary)

    2004-01-01

  • Splunk releases Splunk Storm, a cloud-based version of its core product. (Source: Wikipedia)

    2011-01-01

  • Splunk announces Hunk (Analytics for Hadoop) and transitions Splunk Storm to a free service while expanding Splunk Cloud. (Source: Wikipedia)

    2013-01-01

  • Splunk shuts down the Splunk Storm service. (Source: Wikipedia)

    2015-01-01

  • Splunk rolls out Connected Experiences, extending analytics to AR and mobile devices. (Source: Wikipedia)

    2019-01-01

  • Splunk announces Splunk Enterprise 8.1 and the Splunk Cloud edition with machine learning capabilities. (Source: Wikipedia)

    2020-01-01

  • Cisco announces its intention to acquire Splunk for $28 billion in an all-cash deal. (Source: Wikipedia)

    2023-09-21

  • Cisco completes the acquisition of Splunk. (Source: Wikipedia)

    2024-03-18

Splunk

Splunk Inc. is an American software company based in San Francisco, California, that produces software for searching, monitoring, and analyzing machine-generated data via a web-style interface. A subsidiary of Cisco, its software helps capture, index and correlate real-time data in a searchable repository, from which it can generate graphs, reports, alerts, dashboards and visualizations. Splunk describes its products as SIEM, SOAR (Security Orchestration, Automation, and Response), and observability solutions. The firm uses machine data for identifying data patterns, providing metrics, diagnosing problems and providing intelligence for business operations. It is a horizontal technology used for application management, security and compliance, as well as business and web analytics. In September 2023, it was announced that Splunk would be acquired by Cisco for $28 billion in an all-cash deal. The transaction was completed on March 18, 2024.

Web Search Results
  • What is Splunk? Key Benefits and Features of Splunk - Fortinet

    Splunk is an advanced and scalable form of software that indexes and searches for log files within a system and analyzes data for operational intelligence.The software is responsible for splunking data, which means it correlates, captures, and indexes real-time data, from which it creates alerts, dashboards, graphs, reports, and visualizations. This helps organizations recognize common data patterns, diagnose potential problems, apply intelligence to business operations, and produce metrics. Splunk’s software can be used to examine, monitor, and search for machine-generated big data through a browser-like interface. It makes searching for a particular piece of data quick and easy, and more importantly, does not require a database to store data as it uses indexes for storage. [...] ## A Brief History Of Splunk Splunk was founded in 2003 by Rob Das and Eric Swan, who aimed to provide a solution to the “information caves” that organizations struggled with. The name Splunk came from the term “spelunking,” which is a term describing the hobby of exploring caves. The co-founders developed the technology to create a search engine that could log files stored within a system’s infrastructure. They aimed to market it in bulk, enabling the technology to be deployed in any use case. Splunk’s first version launched in 2004 and gradually grew in popularity with organizations, which increasingly purchased enterprise licenses. ## Why Do We Need Splunk? [...] Skip to content Skip to navigation Skip to footer CyberGlossary › Cybersecurity › What Is Splunk? # What Is Splunk? Get an overview of Splunk, features, versions, and how it works. 2025 THREAT LANDSCAPE REPORT Definition Features Versions How It Works FAQs Definition Features Versions How It Works FAQs ## Splunk Definition Splunk is a big data platform that simplifies the task of collecting and managing massive volumes of machine-generated data and searching for information within it. The technology is used for business and web analytics, application management, compliance, and security.

  • What Is Splunk? The Complete Overview of What Splunk Does

    How much does Splunk cost? Splunk is an enterprise-grade platform built for complex, high-volume data environments, which means it may carry a higher price point than simpler tools. For most, the price is an excellent ROI: Splunk offers significant value through real-time analytics, scalability, and flexibility. Splunk provides multiple pricing models (including ingestion-based, workload-based, and predictive options) to align with different deployment types, data needs, and budgets. Who should use Splunk — and who shouldn’t? Splunk is ideal for enterprises and organizations that need to monitor, secure, or analyze large-scale machine data environments in real time. It may not be the best fit for lightweight monitoring needs or single-use deployments with minimal data variety. [...] Supported platforms: Windows, Linux, Unix. Data formats: Handles syslog, CSV, JSON, XML, and custom log formats. Configuration: Uses inputs.conf to specify monitored files or directories; supports SSL encryption for secure data transmission. Scaling: Multiple Universal Forwarders can send data to a single or clustered set of indexers for load balancing. ### Search Processing Language (SPL) Splunk’s proprietary query language for searching, filtering, and transforming machine data. Syntax: Command-based, similar to Unix pipelines (e.g., `index=web_logs | stats count by status_code`). Key commands: `search, stats, eval, rex, table, sort.` Advanced functions: Supports subsearches, lookups, and custom macros; enables complex analytical queries for real-time and historical data. [...] ## How does Splunk work? Splunk processes machine data through a structured pipeline. Here’s how the Splunk data pipeline works: Forwarders: Collect data from remote systems. Indexers: Process and store the data for fast retrieval. Search Head: Enables users to search, analyze, and visualize the data. Now, let's break these components down. ## Splunk data pipeline: Technical breakdown Splunk’s architecture follows a distributed model, separating data ingestion, indexing, and search for scalability and performance. ### 1. Universal forwarder (UF) The Splunk UF is a lightweight agent installed on source systems to securely collect and forward raw event/log data.

  • Splunk - Wikipedia

    Financials as of January 31, 2023( Image 12 Splunk at AWS Summit Splunk Inc. is an American software company based in San Francisco, California,( that produces software for searching, monitoring, and analyzing machine-generated data via a web-style interface.( A subsidiary of Cisco, its software helps capture, index and correlate real-time data in a searchable repository, from which it can generate graphs, reports, alerts, dashboards and visualizations.( Splunk describes its products as SIEM, SOAR (Security Orchestration, Automation, and Response), and observability "Observability (software)") solutions. [...] Data Stream Processor is a real-time processing product that collects data from various sources and then distributes results to Splunk or other destinations. It allows role-based access to create alerts and reports based on data that is relevant for each individual.( In 2020, it was updated to allow it to access, process, and route real-time data from multiple cloud services.( Also, in 2019, Splunk rolled out Splunk Connected Experiences, which extends its data processing and analytics capabilities to augmented reality (AR), mobile devices, and mobile applications.( In 2020, Splunk announced Splunk Enterprise 8.1 and the Splunk Cloud edition. They include stream processing, machine learning, and multi-cloud capabilities.( [...] In 2011, Splunk released Splunk Storm, a cloud-based version of the core Splunk product. Splunk Storm offered a turnkey, managed, and hosted service for machine data.( In 2013, Splunk announced that Splunk Storm would become a completely free service and expanded its cloud offering with Splunk Cloud.( In 2015, Splunk shut down Splunk Storm.( In 2013, Splunk announced a product called Hunk: Splunk Analytics for Hadoop, which supports accessing, searching, and reporting on external data sets located in Hadoop from a Splunk interface.(

  • Splunk - LinkedIn

    Splunk (1d): AI didn't solve observability. It made it more important. In fact, your AI agents need observability too. This Perspectives by Splunk piece explores the shift to agentic observability, where we observe the systems doing the observing—to catch issues before they cascade and better understand AI system performance. Dig in: [Likes: 23, Comments: 1]; Splunk (1d): Think your AWS data is working hard? Let's make sure it's actually pulling its weight. 💡 Join Splunk and Amazon Web Services (AWS) experts next week for a hands-on workshop! You'll configure real solutions—Splunk Add-on for AWS, Amazon Data Firehose, Lambda functions—and learn how to turn cloud data into insights that actually matter. Reserve your spot before it fills up: [Likes: 15, Comments: 2]; Splunk (2d): AI [...] We’re kicking off 2026 with a fresh set of new and updated #SplunkEducation courses designed to help you stay current, build confidence, and turn proficiency into real-world impact. From updated #SplunkEnterprise Security and #SOAR 7.0 training to UEBA insider threat labs and refreshed dashboard courses, these releases are built for the challenges teams are tackling right now. Explore what’s new and start the year investing in skills that move your work—and your career—forward. [Likes: 36, Comments: 1]; Cisco (3d): Autonomous agents and AI workflows bring new opportunities and new risks. Cisco’s expanded AI Defense and new SASE features deliver industry-first visibility, threat detection, and policy control for secure, reliable AI adoption. #CiscoLiveEMEA [Likes: 267, Comments: 10]; [...] it fills up: [Likes: 15, Comments: 2]; Splunk (2d): AI wasn't just hype in 2025—it delivered. From MCP standardization to self-healing systems, AI agents went from buzzword to business-critical, transforming SecOps, ITOps, and observability alike. Check out our breakdown of the 10 trends that defined the shift, and what lies ahead: [Likes: 39, Comments: 5]; Splunk (2d): Ever wondered what's really happening inside your Kubernetes pods at the kernel level? 🔍 The Splunk Threat Research Team built a mini security lab to find out. See how Cisco Isovalent + Splunk surface valuable context so security teams can hunt threats and respond with speed and accuracy. ⬇️ Part 1 covers setup + data exploration: #SplunkSecurity [Likes: 76, Comments: 1]; Splunk (3d): Optimize your SOC with expert tips

  • Splunk | The Key to Enterprise Resilience

    > Splunk has proven useful in monitoring and analyzing machine data, particularly in the scope of security and IT Operations. Product: Splunk Enterprise Read full review May 03, 2025 Provides real-time visibility for improved operational performance > I can see any logs or anything related to the server or services we want to monitor, and the metrics are a good function. Product: Splunk Observability Cloud Read full review October 21, 2025 Monitors and correlates data across more than 20 client environments > By consolidating 3 legacy SIEM tools into Splunk ES, we reduced licensing and infrastructure costs by about 30 percent annually. Product: Splunk Enterprise Security Read full review Get connected ## Start your journey with Splunk [...] Get connected ## Start your journey with Splunk From defending against cyber threats to scaling business performance, Splunk is with you every step of the way. Have questions? Reach out to our team. Contact Splunk Explore product tours COMPANY About Splunk Careers How Splunk Compares Newsroom Partners Splunk Policy Positions Splunk Protects SURGe Why Splunk? PRODUCTS Free Trials & Downloads All Product Tours Pricing View All Products SPLUNK SITES SPLUNK SITES .conf Documentation Training & Certification Splunk Store Videos View All Resources LEARN [...] ## A leader in security and observability Splunk is the only vendor named both a consecutive leader in SIEM and observability reports from global analyst firms. View awards and recognition Resources ## Trending industry research ### The State of Observability See why leaders generate 53% higher ROI from their observability practice compared to their peers. Get the report ### The State of Observability See why leaders generate 53% higher ROI from their observability practice compared to their peers. Get the report ## State of Security 2025 See how security teams can boost SOCs to overcome gaps, threats, and inefficiencies. Get the report ## The CISO Report 2025 Explore how CISOs and boards can align on priorities, budgeting, compliance, and success metrics. Get the report

Location Data

Splunk, North Wharf Road, Paddington, City of Westminster, Greater London, England, W2 1GT, United Kingdom

company

Coordinates: 51.5189469, -0.1778117

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