The authentication and authorization platform from Avenda Systems will be integrated with Aruba Networks' MOVE architecture to manage a wide range of devices in the enterprise.
Aruba Networks will buy privately held Avenda Systems to bolster its
network security portfolio to help organizations protect personal
devices being used in the enterprise.
Aruba Networks will offer enterprises a single management
console that can secure all devices being used within the enterprise
and apply consistent security policies, Hitesh Sheth, chief operating
officer at Aruba said on a Nov. 18 call with analysts. Users can
connect mobile devices to secure WiFi networks without needing to
involve the IT department.
The acquisition of Avenda Systems would give Aruba Networks a
way to protect devices in a heterogeneous environment, regardless of
the underlying network architecture or the actual devices being used,
the company said during the Nov. 17 earnings call for its first fiscal
quarter, ended Oct. 31. Financial details of Avenda buyout were not
disclosed and the acquisition is expected to close in the second
quarter of Aruba's fiscal year, ending Jan. 31 2012, pending standard
regulatory approvals.
"This should be viewed as a technology acquisition," Sheth said
on the call with analysts, noting that the Avenda technology covers a
wide range products and platforms.
Avenda's authorization and authentication eTIPS platform help
enterprises apply security and access policies across networks and
provide visibility into device profiles. The identity-based platform
allows provisioning of networking and security credentials for devices
running iOS, Android, MacOS or Windows via self-service.
Avenda's product offers role-based policy control, differentiated
access, endpoint health checks, managed guest/contractor access and
extensive reporting and enforcement options. The server and associated
applications can be locally deployed or run as a cloud-based service.
While the Avenda platform would originally be sold as a
stand-alone product, the goal is to integrate it into Aruba's Mobile
virtual Enterprise (MOVE) architecture, which identifies the user,
device type, application being run and current location to apply
customized access policies, Sheth said. MOVE applies different access
policies depending on the user's location, such as when the application
is being accessed from a coffee shop as opposed to from a branch
office. The eTIPS platform would enhance MOVE to help organizations
manage the "Bring-Your-Own-Device" (BYOD) trend, he said.
"Legacy networking vendors have struggled to deliver a purpose-built solution for today's mobility age," said Sheth.
Aruba will provide customers with a "simple, cost-effective and
device agnostic approach to connecting and securing" BYOD users, Sheth
said. The BYOD trend will continue, with employees using their personal
devices to access corporate resources, but it will also expand to
include desktops and laptops, not just smartphones and tablets, Sheth
said. He predicted that there will be a time when corporations will
just give employees a stipend and have them use their personal
computers to do their work, provided the machines meet "certain basic
security policies."
Founded by former Cisco executives, Santhosh Cheeniyil and
Krishna Prabhakar, Avenda has offices in Santa Clara, Calif. and in
India. All 27 employees are expected to join Aruba at the close of the
acquisition, Sheth said, who noted that the company's close proximity
to Aruba's offices in Sunnyvale, Calif. helped make the acquisition
more attractive.
Aruba has made several small acquisitions recently. The company
acquired assets and technology from Amigopod, an Australia-based
network authentication vendor, in Dec. 2010, and outdoor wireless mesh
specialist Azalea Networks in May 2010.
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