Symantec Set To Acquire Security Consultant @stake

Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed, but Symantec officials said the deal was expected to close in October.

@stake, Cambridge, Mass., boasts a security research and consulting arm, and peddles security auditing and analysis products under the SmartRisk product line.

Symantec previously acquired managed security services provider Riptech for an estimated $145 million.

While Symantec officials touted the @stake acquisition as a move to expand the Cupertino, Calif.-based vendor's security consulting business and pointed out that its managed services group offers some partnership opportunities, the move also clearly increases competition in the space.

Will Henderson, CEO of Sword and Shield Enterprise Security, Knoxville, Tenn., said security competition in the industry already is fierce, and noted that Symantec has credibility and name recognition that gives it an advantage in the bidding process.

Still, Henderson said Sword and Shield is a regional player that probably won't see too much competition from Symantec's professional services group. "I don't think we would run into them more than once per year," he said.

Other solution providers believe they will benefit from the acquisition through additional opportunities to network into new deals.

David Sockol, CEO of Emagined Security, San Carlos, Calif., said that @stake helps Symantec solution partners meet a growing need in the marketplace to ensure that major systems are designed and operated in a secure fashion.

"This allows Symantec together with its partners to bring strong application security services to the marketplace," Sockol said. "The introduction of these additional services will give us new opportunities to partner on large scale initiatives that single organizations may not be able to accomplish on their own."

According to Gail Hamilton, executive vice president of Symantec Global Services and Support, the acquisition also will give Symantec all of @stake's Centers of Excellence, training and research facilities dedicated to documenting security flaws in operating systems and network protocols, and educating customers about those problems.

@stake's customers include six of the top 10 financial institutions, four of the largest independent software companies and seven of the top 10 telecommunications carriers, Symantec said.

KRISTEN KENEDY contributed to this report.