IBM To Acquire Identity Management Vendor

IBM Access360

The deal, expected to close early in the fourth quarter, calls for IBM to acquire all of the assets of the Irvine, Calif.-based Access360. Financial terms weren't disclosed.

IBM said it plans to integrate Access360's enRole identity management software with its Tivoli software portfolio, which already includes identity management products. "Customers are aggressively investing in identity management software to control the explosion in user populations as they extend their business beyond the firewall and through emerging Web technologies," said Robert LeBlanc, general manager of IBM's Austin-based Tivoli Software unit, in a statement.

The acquisition should invigorate sales of the Access360 product line, said Lou Rubbo, principal at DirSec, a directory and security solution provider in Centennial, Colo. "It's interesting in that some of the technology is integrated more closely with Sun [Microsystems than with IBM technology," he said.

So far, Access360 has primarily sold its products directly, with a limited number of VAR and systems integrator partners such as DirSec, Rubbo said, adding that the acquisition should boost sales of enRole. "It gives them a sales reach they didn't have before," he said.