HP, Citrix Team on Identity Tools

Hewlett-Packard Co. and Citrix Systems Inc. will combine identity and access management technology and develop products together, the companies said last week.

The companies announced plans to integrate Citrixs Password Manager with HPs OpenView Identity and Access Management suite, and HP also said it selected Password Manager as its preferred enterprise single-sign-on technology for OpenView.

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The deal will give both companies a leg up in the growing market for ESSO (enterprise single sign-on), as customers look to strengthen network security and comply with new data privacy laws.

Password Manager already works with the OpenView Identity and Access Management suite, but there will be tighter integration between the two products in the future as a result of the agreement, said David Jones, senior vice president of corporate development for Citrix, based in Fort Lauderdale, Fla.

Going forward, marketing and development groups from both companies will work together to plan integration between the products and certify use cases for customers, said officials at HP, based in Palo Alto, Calif.

"The model [Citrix] has is generically secure, but we havent spent a lot of [effort] on compliance. Its a capability wed like to add, and HP is the logical partner," Jones said.

Citrixs underlying technology and channel partners complement HP and the OpenView technology more than those of identity management vendors such as IBM, Computer Associates International Inc., Sun Microsystems Inc. and Novell Inc., said HP officials.

HP will recommend Password Manager to OpenView Business Management customers, according to a statement. However, the company isnt abandoning its policy of being vendor-agnostic.

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