IBM to acquire BigFix

IBM has entered into an agreement to acquire BigFix. The move aims to accelerate IBM’s efforts to help organizations secure the enterprise by managing and automating security and compliance updates on thousands of computers globally. Financial details were not disclosed.

Businesses today are tasked with managing thousands of computers and ensuring they remain available, secure and at their proper configurations according to policies and requirements. As the management of personal computers (PCs), servers and laptops grows even more complex, organizations are faced with higher costs and more risk to protect themselves against security threats, often with limited warning.

While many vendors broadcast security patches and updates indiscriminately, BigFix software has built-in intelligence that can identify which devices are not in compliance with corporate IT policies and recommend security fixes and timely software updates to 500,000 machines in a matter of minutes.

BigFix has more than 700 customers in industries such as federal, retail, entertainment, healthcare, education and financial services that use BigFix for a simplified and automated approach to managing and securing the IT infrastructure.

BigFix will be integrated into IBM Software Group, which has made approximately 60 acquisitions since 2003. The deal is expected to close in the third quarter of 2010, subject to regulatory approval and the satisfaction of customary closing conditions.

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