BMC Buys ID-Management Company

Vendors of systems- and network-management software are trying to fill out their suites, adding more functionality and features so customers don't have to use multiple applications to manage their IT infrastructure. BMC Software Inc. on Wednesday added identity management to its product portfolio when it revealed plans to buy OpenNetwork Technologies for around $18 million in cash.

OpenNetwork is known for software that manages Web access, often called single-sign-on software. Such software can reduce or eliminate the need for users to remember multiple passwords to sign on to various networks, Web sites, and applications. The acquisition will let BMC offer customers a Web-based console for managing internal and external users. It can be used to provide access to partners so users in different companies can collaborate across company borders. BMC also gains a Web-access-management system compatible with Java and Microsoft-based app-development environments.

The acquisition helps BMC build out its identity-management strategy. The OpenNetwork software fits with BMC's Business Service Management application-management platform, which aims to integrate data with business processes. The acquisition lets BMC add single-sign-on capabilities to its existing identity-management features, including user provisioning, workflow, and content management.

The deal fills a gap in BMC's identity-management suite, says Phil Schacter, an analyst at IT security research firm Burton Group. "This puts BMC in the middle--behind IBM, CA, Novell, Sun, and Entrust--of the identity-management market," he says. "It's another old-style systems-management vendor reinventing itself around identity management."