IBM buys security provider Ounce Labs
Big Blue scoops up security provider Ounce Labs to help with both software security and compliance.
IBM has purchased Ounce Labs, a privately held software security provider, the companies said Tuesday.
Software developers often face both security and compliance issues with their products. Ounce Labs uses its technology to scan the source code of an application, hunting for security holes and compliance failures. Ounce tries to track down problems early on in a product's development when they're easier and cheaper to fix.
IBM will integrate Waltham, Mass.-based Ounce Labs into its Rational software business, which offers security and compliance testing. Big Blue said it believes that the combination of Ounce Labs and Rational will provide its customers with security analysis from source code to final production.
"The complexity of today's systems and the sophistication of attacks require comprehensive technology," said Daniel Sabbah, general manager of IBM Rational Software. "The acquisition of Ounce Labs allows IBM to provide customers an end-to-end application security-testing solution for managing security and compliance across all stages of the software delivery process."
Ounce Labs, which was founded in 2002, recently sponsored a survey that showed many CEOs and their executive officers don't necessarily see eye to eye on key security issues.
Big Blue is in a buying mood. Ounce Labs is IBM's second acquisition deal of the day, with the company just announcing that it will acquire business analytics forecaster SPSS for $1.2 billion.
The terms of the Ounce Labs acquisition were not disclosed.