EMC buys Authentica

Neither EMC Documentum nor Authentica made an official announcement on the acquisition late last week, but Delphi Group announced the transaction in a research note, according to the Boston Business Journal.

Dave Farmer, director of public relations for EMC, said Monday that his company has acquired a number of smaller companies in recent months.

"EMC has been highly acquisitive over the past three years, and a lot of the smaller companies don't get formal announcements," he said, adding that the acquisition would provide additional safeguards to users. "This means that Documentum users will have the same control when it is distributed outside the company firewalls."

Dephi said EMC intends to keep all Authentica employees at its Lexington, Mass., office, the report said.

Authentica was founded in 1998, according to the company's website. Its customers include the FBI, Ford Motors, the state of Massachusetts, United Healthcare and the U.S. State Department.

Founded in 1979, the Hopkinton, Mass., company claims Dell, NEC, Fujitsu Systems, Unisys and NCR as resellers, according to its website. It has also partnered with Cisco, Microsoft, SAP Oracle, Accenture and EDS.

Ed Gaudet, vice president and marketing and product management for Liquid Machines, said the acquisition is a positive sign for the rights management industry.

"We think that it is good for us and good for the industry," he said. "It's providing proof that this is a growing market."