IBM Makes Another Acquisition for Tivoli

Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. Access360 will become part of IBM Software Group and integrated into the Tivoli software portfolio, adding Access360 enRole identity management software to IBM's existing identity management portfolio. Market research firm IDC reported this summer that it expects security management software to grow from $550 million in 2001 to more than $2 billion in 2006.

"By merging the talent and technology of the Access360 and Tivoli software team, IBM can bring an integrated identity management solution with autonomic capabilities to our customers faster," said Robert LeBlanc, general manager of Tivoli Software, during a press conference Tuesday.

The deal is scheduled for completion in the fourth quarter of 2002. IBM plans to integrate all Access360 products, operations and personnel into Tivoli under IBM Software Group. The five-year-old Irvine, Calif.-based company has 130 employees and has secured a total of $81.5 million in funding to date.

Access360 is the second company to be acquired by IBM Software for Tivoli in the last week. Big Blue also bought TrelliSoft, a small storage resource management software company based in Glen Ellyn, Ill. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. IBM plans to integrate the four-year-old company's 30 employees and SRM product family, dubbed StorageAlert, into the Tivoli portfolio. Analyst firm Giga Information Group predicts SRM software will be a $5 billion market by 2005.

With the two acquisitions, Tivoli, which had been known as a systems management software company, further expands its footing on two growing technology areas--storage and security.