Novell acquires e-Security for $72M

Novell said many companies were failing to meet the requirements of complex government regulations such as Sarbanes-Oxley, Basel II and HIPAA because they are relying on varying information sources and tools to monitor compliance, an approach which is inefficient and error-prone.

By combining Novell's identity management offerings with e-Security's Sentinel5, the firm promised to deliver a solution that provides a real-time, holistic view of security and compliance activities, while helping customers monitor, report and respond automatically to network events.

"In the compliance area, customers want converged solutions that encompass system, identity, access and security event management," said Chris Christiansen, IDC vice president of security products and services. "Compliance is changing the way companies think about security and identity management. The focus now is on automating and reporting results, as well as responding to events and non-compliant activities as they happen," added Jack Messman, chairman and chief executive officer of Novell.

Sentinel5 can be purchased from Novell beginning in May. The next version of the Novell and e-Security offering is expected to be available this summer.

Novell said it estimates a positive revenue impact from the acquisition of roughly $20 million in the coming 12 months.