* Consolidation continues in the identity management market
I sometimes wonder why I talk about products, I really do. No sooner do I write something then the entire landscape changes!
Last week, for example, you read (I hope) what I believe to be the implications of Oracle’s purchase of Thor and OctetString. In the short space of time between when I penned the words and when they showed up in your inbox, circumstances surrounding four of the companies (CA, Sun, Novell, HP) I mentioned had changed. I’ll try to bring you up to date, but no guarantees that something I’m writing now won’t be completely overtaken by events before you have a chance to read it.
Both CA, which I last week described as offering parts of the puzzle but not comprehensive offerings, and Novell, which I said allowed its identity management offerings to twist slowly in the wind while it pursues open source nirvana, announced new products/suites.
Novell’s Identity Manager 3.0 is an impressive upgrade to its 2.0 version with the addition of the graphical “Designer” module and an improved provisioning add-on. Novell is hosting a Webinar next Wednesday to unveil it all.
CA recently released eTrust Identity and Access Management Suite, although the product description is buried behind its “Security Solutions” category. Nevertheless, it’s the most feature-complete identity management offering that CA has ever had. Both the CA and the Novell apps/services/suites deserve your attention.
I also claimed that HP only offered part of the puzzle but it added a big piece when last week it announced its intention to acquire Trustgenix and its federation technology. Of course, HP had been partnering with Trustgenix for a long time, so the product offering doesn’t change a lot – just that there might be even tighter integration.
Finally, Sun dropped a huge bombshell last week when it announced that it has decided to give away its identity products and make money on consulting and services surrounding them. There will be no support, nor warranties, on the free software but users can purchase (on a subscription basis, most likely) support, update service, enhancements, etc.
If you’re tracking identity management companies, products and technologies I’d suggest making notations in very light pencil – otherwise the erasures will quickly wear holes in the paper! Still, I’ll try my best to keep you abreast of the kaleidoscope that is the identity management landscape today. Stay tuned.
