Security Software: IBM to Acquire Q1 Labs to Drive Greater Security Intelligence

Q1 Labs' Analytics to Advance IBM's Security Products and Services Offering

(12.10.11) - IBM (NYSE: IBM) announced a definitive agreement to acquire privately held Q1 Labs, a Waltham, Massachusetts-based provider of security intelligence software. The move aims to accelerate IBM’s efforts to help clients more intelligently secure their enterprises by applying analytics to correlate information from key security domains and creating security dashboards for their organizations. Financial terms were not disclosed.

Following the close of the acquisition, Q1 Labs will join the newly-formed IBM Security Systems division, representing the world's most comprehensive security portfolio.

After the close, IBM intends the new division to be led by Brendan Hannigan, CEO of Q1 Labs.

The new division will target a $94 billion opportunity in security software and services, which has a nearly 12 percent compound annual growth rate, according to IBM estimates.

Q1 Labs will join the more than 10 strategic security acquisitions IBM has made in the last decade and the more than 25 analytics-related purchases, including the recently announced acquisition of security analytics software firm, i2.

Organizations face a landscape with high-impact corporate breaches, growing mobile security concerns and advanced security threats, as highlighted in last week’s IBM X-Force Mid-Year Trend and Risk Report. Firms must be equipped to identify threats, detect insider fraud, predict business risk and address regulatory mandates. Three quarters of firms feel cyberattacks are hard to detect and their effectiveness would increase with end-to-end solutions, according to a recent industry report.

Q1 Labs’ advanced analytics and correlation capabilities can automatically detect and flag actions across an enterprise that deviate from prescribed policies and typical behavior to help prevent breaches, such as an employee accessing unauthorized information.

"Since perimeter defense alone is no longer capable of thwarting all threats, IBM is in a unique position to shift security thinking to an integrated, predictive approach,” said Brendan Hannigan, CEO of Q1 Labs. "Q1 Labs’ security analytics will add greater intelligence to IBM’s security portfolio and continue to distinguish IBM from competitors."

IBM’s new Security Systems division integrates IBM’s Tivoli, Rational and Information Management security software, appliances, lab offerings and services. IBM plans to apply Q1 Labs’ analytics to drive greater security intelligence capabilities across its security products and services such as identity and access management, database security, application security, enterprise risk management, intrusion prevention, endpoint management and network security. In fact, IBM Managed Security Services today is making available to clients a cloud-based service of Q1 Labs’ security information and event management offering.

Q1 Labs technology will also create a common security platform for IBM’s software, hardware, services and research offerings. Clients will benefit from more tightly integrated products, a unified roadmap and accelerated time-to-value on investments to build more intelligent security systems. (IBM: ra)