RSA CEO Bets on Authentication, Anti-fraud Technology

The scooter is a light-hearted touch for Coviello, who has earned a reputation as a tough competitor with a sharp intellect and a polished persona in his decade at the helm of RSA, and as a spokesman for TechNet, the technology industry lobbying group.

But on this day, its a relaxed and happy Coviello in khakis and a sweater, pushing himself around the cafeteria.

"Im getting older, and this place is huge," Coviello says. "This helps me get around."

Like its CEO, RSA is changing. In Coviellos decade at the helm, the Bedford, Mass., company has grown from a $25 million maker of PKI (Public Key Infrastructure) products to a $300 million company with a range of products that include secure authentication tokens and identity and access management software.

As of January 2006, the company plans to add "consumer anti-fraud protection" to its list of technologies, with the planned $145 million acquisition of privately held Cyota Inc., which RSA agreed to acquire in December.

Click here to read more about RSAs acquisition of Cyota.

The ride has not always been easy for Coviello or the company.

RSA said in December that it was closing development operations in New York, California and British Columbia to consolidate its engineering operations in facilities in Bedford, as well as Australia, India and Israel.

The company also provoked the ire of Wall Street for lackluster fiscal performance in recent quarters, and for what many analysts felt was a too-rich offer for Cyota.

Speaking with eWEEK, Coviello defended RSAs performance, its acquisition of Cyota, and the companys plans for the future, which he described as common sense moves to address a fast changing authentication market.

"These days, were worrying less about competition than about the fragmentation of the authentication market," Coviello said.

Next Page: Fragmentation.

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