There are reports that IBM is about to announce it is acquiring Guardium, a database security technology firm.
On the face of it the deal would appear to make sense. Guardium announced additional support for a range of IBM server platforms and databases this April, and if it’s true as their press release then claimed that, “Guardium Fuels Customer Momentum for IBM Database Software”, you can see why IBM might want to own the firm.
They say there’s a new ROI these days: Risk of Incarceration. Guardium’s technology is said to help companies better manage and protect their enterprise data. That’s pretty high up on most company’s agendas these days, so you can see why IBM might be prepared to stump up $225m for the company – that’s what it is reportedly
being sold for.
Guardium is privately held and said to have revenues in the tens of miillions of dollars range. As well as IBM databases, Guardium’s technology currently supports Microsoft SQL Server, Oracle, Sybase, MySQL and Teradata.
I’ve asked IBM for comment so you can expect a “no comment” to be appended to this any minute now — they won’t be able to comment on this until it is announced officially I reckon.
Update: in response to my request for comment, IBM told me: “We decline to comment on rumour and speculation.” The news of the rumour has however been picked up by many of the world’s news bureaus as of Monday 30th November.
