VanillaPlus

HP and Fortify Software have reached a definitive agreement under which HP will acquire Fortify Software, a privately held software security assurance company based in San Mateo, California. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

With the acquisition of Fortify Software, HP says it will offer a complete, market-leading solution that helps organisations reduce business risk, meet compliance regulations and protect against malicious application attacks by integrating security assurance seamlessly across the application life cycle.

“Fortify has always been committed to helping chief information security officers and application teams find, fix and prevent security vulnerabilities before they can be exploited by attackers,” said John M. Jack, chief executive officer, Fortify Software. “Joining HP will allow us to further integrate our proven technology and security expertise with HP’s solutions, letting our joint clients shrink the time-to-security for their new and existing production applications.”

HP and Fortify already had a history of collaboration, including the introduction in February 2010 of Hybrid 2.0, a security analysis technology that strengthened an earlier integration announced in June 2009. With the acquisition of Fortify, HP will be able to accelerate development of this technology to give clients the accuracy and prioritisation they need around security vulnerabilities, to build scalable enterprise application security programmes.

When the deal closes, HP will run Fortify initially as a standalone entity to ensure continuity while targeting the security market. Fortify will be integrated over time into the HP Software and Solutions business. 

AT&T sells Sterling Commerce to IBM for $1.4bn

Meanwhile, in an unrelated deal AT&T was finalising the sale to IBM, first disclosed in May, of Sterling Commerce, Inc for US$1.4 billion.

According to IBM, the acquisition expands "Big Blue's" ability to help clients accelerate their interactions with customers, partners and suppliers through dynamic business networks using either on-premise or cloud delivery models. Organisations want to create more intelligent networks of business partners, customers and suppliers in order to enhance efficiency and profitability. These interactions are increasing dramatically due to the proliferation of electronic business transactions, from banks exchanging transaction data and manufacturers sourcing raw materials electronically, to retailers automating stock replenishment and managing orders online.  

Sterling Commerce provides software for cross-channel commerce and integration of customer, partner and supplier networks across a wide range of industries. The combination of IBM and Sterling Commerce is said to enable the integration of key business processes across channels and among trading partners – from marketing and selling to order management and fulfilment.