Symark International, which offers a variety of tools for managing user access in Unix environments, today announced it is acquiring BeyondTrust, a vendor that offers many of those same capabilities for Windows.

The combined organization will operate under the name BeyondTrust, according to CEO John Mutch. The Symark name will be phased out, he says.

Although their technologies differ, both Symark and BeyondTrust offer tools designed for "privilege management," which limits users' access to the applications and data they need to do their jobs. Both companies have been proponents of least-privilege management, pointing out that unnecessary administrative privileges often lead to security problems.

Initially, the two companies hope to integrate event management and log management data, probably via a single console, Mutch says. Eventually, the combined company could provide a more affordable, less complex method to integrate access control in heterogeneous OS environments than those offered by larger counterparts, such as IBM or CA, he says.

The combined company will continue its acquisition strategy and may announce another purchase before the end of the year, Mutch says.

All employees from both companies will be retained, the companies say. Former BeyondTrust CEO John Moyer is now the EVP and general manager of the BeyondTrust Windows Business Unit. Eric Voskuil will become CTO of the combined company, responsible for the technical direction of product strategy.

"BeyondTrust grew its revenue by 75 percent over the past year by addressing the need for Windows-based enterprises across many industries to manage user privileges," says John Moyer, EVP and general manager of the BeyondTrust Windows Business Unit. "Combining these Windows capabilities with privileged user access management for Unix and Linux platforms enables the new BeyondTrust to provide customers with a uniquely comprehensive range of options for simplifying security and compliance while reducing costs."

A webcast to discuss the details of the acquisition and company strategy is scheduled for Tuesday, Sept. 22, 2009, at 10:30 a.m. EDT and 4:30 p.m. EDT.

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