Avocent To Buy LANDesk

LANDesk’s network client management (systems management) and security products will give Avocent tools that prevent network problems, which will complement its suite of out-of-band network recovery and management tools, said Steve Daly, senior vice president of corporate strategy at Avocent, Huntsville, Ala.

"Now we can actually help you control the network before you have problems," Daly said. And since LANDesk and its resellers now will have Avocent’s out-of-band recovery tools, LANDesk will be able to step up the competitive pressure against rival Altiris, he added.

The acquisition is expected to close in about two months, and the transaction value may increase by up to $60 million if LANDesk meets certain financial targets, according to South Jordan, Utah-based LANDesk, which likely will operate as an independent division of Avocent.

Unlike many vendor mergers, at least Avocent and LANDesk have practically no overlapping technology, said Gene Kim, vice president of worldwide sales at NetworkD, Newport Beach, Calif.-based LANDesk partner.

The fact that Avocent is a public company could mean more access for LANDesk products to larger accounts, said Kim. "This could only lead to greater opportunity," he said.

LANDesk is scheduled to further brief NetworkD on expected changes resulting from the planned merger in the coming weeks, said Kim.

Avocent’s sales are 100 percent indirect through resellers and OEMs. Integrated products will come out down the road, but it’s still too early to provide details of those offerings, Daly said. Avocent may introduce a new certification for LANDesk partners for future products or for some current Avocent products, he added.

Avocent also will continue to support the LANDesk installed base, Daly said. A deal struck in August 2005 between LANDesk and Lenovo, which offers LANDesk partners incentives to attach Lenovo PCs to LANDesk sales, will stay intact, he said.