Symantec buys Altiris

Security and storage giant grabs Altiris for IT management push

Security and storage vendor Symantec has signed a definitive agreement to buy IT management software vendor Altiris for a cool $830m.

According to Symantec, US-based Altiris’s solutions would enable it to manage and service its customers’ network-based endpoints, from mobile devices to server and storage assets.

Symantec chief executive John Thompson, said: “By combining the endpoint management solutions from Altiris with the security expertise from Symantec, we believe we can offer customers a more comprehensive solution to protect and manage the millions of connected devices that make up the fabric of today’s global IT infrastructure.”

Symantec has snapped up a string of small and mid-sized vendors since its $10.5bn mega-merger with Veritas in 2005, among them UK consultancy Company-i, instant messaging vendor IMLogic and IT security compliance outfit Bindview.

But Nasdaq-listed Altiris, which expects to post a 2006 turnover of close to $230m, may well represent the biggest integration challenge of the lot - a possible soar point for the channel.

Only last week, Alex Tatham, director of commercial products at distributor Bell Micro, argued that Symantec had lost customer focus as a result of its merger with Veritas, with the channel “caught in the middle” (CRN, 29 January).

With regulatory and shareholder approval yet to be secured, the Altiris deal is expected to close in the second calendar quarter.