Analysts: IBM to gain security services with ISS buy

23.08.2006
IBM's planned purchase of Internet Security Systems Inc. will add a range of network security and managed services capabilities to its current range of identity and access management products, analysts said Wednesday.

IBM this morning announced plans to acquire Atlanta-based ISS in an all-cash deal worth US$1.3 billion -- the largest acquisition for IBM since its purchase of PricewaterhouseCoopers in 2002.

"The acquisition is significant and supports our strategic priorities" in the security market, Val Rahmani, IBM's general manager of infrastructure management services, said at a news conference. The acquisition will help IBM deliver a range of "preemptive" and "scalable" products while bolstering the company's presence in managed security, she said.

With 2005 revenue of $300 million, publicly traded ISS is one of the largest providers of network security products and managed security services in the industry. It sells a range of intrusion-prevention, intrusion-detection and so-called unified threat management appliances under the Proventia brand name.

The company also offers a range of services to help companies manage their firewalls and intrusion-detection and -prevention systems. Among ISS's better-known services is its X-Force Threat Analysis, which uses a global network of data centers to give customers advance intelligence on impending threats and attacks.

ISS claims more than 11,000 worldwide customers, including 17 of the largest banks, 11 large public insurance companies and more than a dozen national governments.