CrowdStrike and Schwarz Digits are broadening their strategic partnership: the US security vendor’s Falcon platform is set to become available through Schwarz Digits’ sovereign cloud, STACKIT. CrowdStrike is also acquiring the intellectual property of Schwarz Digits company XM Cyber.
CrowdStrike (NASDAQ: CRWD) and Schwarz Digits are expanding their existing strategic partnership. According to the companies, both sides have developed a multi-year roadmap to make the AI-native Falcon platform available to European organizations via STACKIT, Schwarz Digits’ sovereign cloud, and to broaden access for customers across the region.
As part of the expanded partnership, CrowdStrike has signed a binding agreement to acquire the intellectual property of XM Cyber. The Schwarz Digits company specializes in attack-path visualization and simulating the attacker’s perspective. Existing XM Cyber customers are to be given the option to move to the Falcon platform through Falcon Flex.
The companies cite AI-driven attackers as a key driver, arguing that such attackers can identify vulnerabilities and chain them into attacks more quickly. This is said to be prompting organizations to replace fragmented point solutions with standardized platforms.
“Organizations around the world increasingly want sovereignty without compromising on cybersecurity,” George Kurtz, CEO and founder of CrowdStrike, is quoted as saying in the announcement. He said the partnership would increase the speed at which the Falcon platform can be deployed within STACKIT’s sovereign cloud environment in Europe, and that the acquisition would strengthen CrowdStrike’s exposure management business.
Exposure management for an evolving threat landscape
With Falcon Exposure Management, CrowdStrike is positioning a product that, according to the company, is designed for the era of advanced AI models. Traditional vulnerability management, the company argues, no longer keeps pace: security teams must chase every finding, while attackers can focus on the small number of flaws that actually matter. The product is meant to replace that model with continuous, real-time visibility and prioritization based on real-world exploitability. Citing IDC research, CrowdStrike states that organizations adopting the platform replace an average of five point tools with a single, consolidated risk view.
Roadmap for operating on STACKIT
The expanded partnership deepens the relationship between CrowdStrike and Schwarz Digits, which says it already uses the Falcon platform internally. A phased roadmap is intended to bring Falcon onto STACKIT, Schwarz Digits’ cloud infrastructure operated within Europe. Both companies point to regulatory requirements such as the EU Cyber Resilience Act and the NIS2 directive.
“European organizations shouldn’t have to sacrifice cybersecurity for sovereignty,” said Christian Müller, CEO of Schwarz Digits, according to the announcement. He said the Falcon platform is becoming a central pillar of the company’s cybersecurity strategy, with a long-term plan to operate it on STACKIT. XM Cyber, he added, has proven itself in proactive defense, and the company intends to build on that while keeping day-to-day operations unchanged for existing customers.
Through STACKIT, the Falcon platform is intended to become accessible to European organizations across the region. XM Cyber, positioned as a Challenger for Exposure Assessment Platforms in the 2025 Gartner Magic Quadrant, says it continues to support its existing customers and is offering them a migration path to the Falcon platform via Falcon Flex.
Transaction details
Upon closing, CrowdStrike will acquire XM Cyber’s intellectual property, which the company says includes more than 45 patents as well as proprietary source code. CrowdStrike says it is not acquiring XM Cyber’s revenue or customers; XM Cyber will continue to operate as an independent company under a license from CrowdStrike for the intellectual property. CrowdStrike expects the transaction to close in the second half of its fiscal year 2027, subject to customary closing conditions and regulatory approvals.
Critical note: digital sovereignty
Although the Falcon platform is set to run on the European STACKIT cloud, the core of the technology — the software, threat intelligence, and now the acquired intellectual property of XM Cyber — remains owned by a US company. CrowdStrike therefore continues to be subject to US law, including the CLOUD Act, which under certain conditions allows US authorities to access data held by US companies regardless of where that data is stored. For customers seeking European sovereignty primarily for regulatory reasons, such as the EU Cyber Resilience Act or NIS2, this means that relocating infrastructure to STACKIT alone does not necessarily resolve questions of legal and operational control over the software and its intellectual property. How far sovereignty extends in practice depends on details such as the operating model, access rights, and contractual arrangements — details CrowdStrike and Schwarz Digits have not yet published.
Preview
The rollout of the Falcon platform on STACKIT is expected to proceed in phases; no detailed timeline for individual market availability has been given. Closing of the XM Cyber IP acquisition is expected in the second half of CrowdStrike’s fiscal year 2027.
Dr. Jakob Jung is Editor-in-Chief of Security Storage and Channel Germany. He has been working in IT journalism for more than 20 years. His career includes Computer Reseller News, Heise Resale, Informationweek, Techtarget (storage and data center) and ChannelBiz. He also freelances for numerous IT publications, including Computerwoche, Channelpartner, IT-Business, Storage-Insider and ZDnet. His main topics are channel, storage, security, data center, ERP and CRM.
Contact via Mail: jakob.jung@security-storage-und-channel-germany.de