Novell Acquires e-Security

Novell announced that it has acquired e-Security Inc., maker of Sentinel, a product that delivers real-time event monitoring, response and reporting capabilities. By adding e-Security's Sentinel solution to its identity and systems management solutions Novell expects that its customers will now be to enjoy a more comprehensive view of user, network and application events that will help streamline processes, augment compliance monitoring, and cut costs.

"Compliance is changing the way companies think about security and identity management. The focus now is on automating and reporting results, as well as responding to events and non-compliant activities as they happen," said Jack Messman, chairman and CEO of Novell. "Novell's acquisition of e-Security demonstrates our commitment to this growing market, leveraging a core element of our business to deliver robust security and compliance solutions that meet our customers' needs in an increasingly regulated business environment."

Reed Harrison, founder and chief technology officer of e-Security, said, "Combining Novell's expertise in identity management with our real-time security event monitoring and reporting capabilities will create an unmatched solution. As a member of the Novell family, we can now help redefine how customers think about security and compliance."

Founded in 1999, e-Security reported that 2005 was a record year with the company achieving a 50% customer growth rate over 2004, a milestone unsurpassed in the company's history.

Sentinel will continue to be sold as a standalone product and Novell intends to release a new version this summer. Novell paid $72 million for the acquisition and expects to realize $20 million in revenue from the deal with in the next 12 months.