Storage giant EMC has announced it is to shell out almost $2.1bn to acquire digital security specialist RSA Security.

EMC said the deal - which is expected to close in the autumn subject to regulatory approval – will provide the company with identity, access, encryption and key management solutions that it will integrate with its existing storage and document management portfolio.

Speaking yesterday at the news conference announcing the deal, EMC boss Joe Tucci said that customers were increasingly demanding integrated storage and security capabilities. “In just about every survey of IT, security and storage dominate the top of the lists,” he said. “This acquisition frankly fills a big need for EMC.”

EMC argued that by integrating RSA and EMC’s portfolio it will be able to securely manage customers’ data from cradle to grave.

“Businesses can’t secure what they don’t manage, and when it comes to securing information, that means simply two things – managing the data and managing access to the data,” Tucci added in a statement. “Bringing RSA into the fold provides EMC with industry-leading identity and access management technologies and best-in-class encryption and key management software to help EMC deliver information lifecycle management securely.”

Upon completion of the acquisition, RSA will operate as EMC’s Information Security Division, with RSA CEO Art Coviello retaining control of the division as an executive vice president of EMC and president of the division.

Financial analyst offered some criticism of the size of the deal suggesting EMC may have overpaid, but industry analysts were broadly supportive claiming the company had plugged an important gap in its portfolio.

Bob Tarzey of analyst firm Quocirca said the deal represented a big shift for EMC, increasing its credentials as a software provider and moving it into the security market. “There might be some concerns from RSA customers who are not EMC customers, but EMC has quite a good record of keeping acquired customers happy, as it managed with VMWare,” he added.

Experts claimed the ability to integrate storage with security and encryption technologies will particularly appeal to customers facing increasingly strict regulations governing how data is kept.