Symantec to acquire Altiris

Security vendor Symantec has signed an agreement to acquire management tools specialist Altiris

Symantec's security products are well known

Security vendor Symantec has signed a definitive agreement to acquire asset management vendor Altiris. In a statement, Symantec said that the cash deal would value Altiris at about $830m. The deal is expected to close in the second quarter of 2007, subject to the usual regulator and shareholder approvals associated with a takeover of this magnitude.

In a conference call held today, Symantec chief executive John Thompson said that the combination of Altiris's client-device management products and Symantec's security expertise would offer customers a more comprehensive solution. "Altiris is very complimentary and has been on our M&A roadmap for a long time," said Thompson. He added that the acquisition would lead to the creation of a new division within Symantec, "One where the most secure endpoint is a well managed endpoint."

Symantec is well known for its enterprise and consumer security software, whilst Altiris's strength lies in remote control and management software used by enterprise IT departments and helpdesks. Altiris has recently launched software virtualisation products allowing firms to peg support costs associated with software rollouts and this deal could give Symantec access to a larger customer audience for its security products.

Symantec is hoping to use its DeepSight Threat management system to identify problems and then provide signature updates that will be delivered through Altiris's remote management infrastructure. This should help customers to ensure that client devices do not become weak points that could lead to a lack of compliance with laws governing data protection, for example.

Butler Group security analyst Andy Kellett said, “This gives Symantec the efficiency to deliver their security effectively.”

Kellett also pointed out that Symantec had been extending the range of the security functions it offers: “I know that Symantec is not keen on the UTM badge – it made a decision last year to stick with the software approach – but that doesn’t mean that it doesn't deliver the functionality you’d see under the unified threat umbrella. However, you have to get the supporting infrastructure right and this is what Symantec is doing [with this deal].”