Netegrity Buys Portal Maker DataChannel

E-business security management software developer Netegrity Inc. announced plans late Wednesday to acquire enterprise portal software developer DataChannel Inc.

The cash and stock deal, valued at approximately $50 million, is a key step in Netegritys strategy to deliver what it calls a “secure relationship management” platform.

DataChannel portal technology will provide the centralized presentation and integration services for Netegritys SRM platform vision. The SRM platform will integrate access control, single sign-on, identity management, portal and provisioning services for building, managing and delivering e-business portals, Netegrity officials said.

The unnamed platform would include a centralized Management Dashboard for administration of the services. Corporate IT departments could delegate such administration to business users to manage their own e-business portals and relationships, Netegrity officials said.

The integrated shared services will enable companies to more quickly respond to customers and business partners, accelerate e-business initiatives, and reduce the total cost of portal initiatives, according to the Netegrity officials.

DataChannel, of Bellevue, Wash., yesterday released DataChannel Server 5.0, which will provide the portal technology for the Netegrity SRM platform. Key features of version 5.0 include secure, bi-directional data access; a drag-and-activate graphical interface; a Web services development environment; a Java 2 Enterprise Edition-based architecture; and integrated content management with search, workflow and version control.

“Netegrity and DataChannel share a common vision of providing a dynamic and flexible e-business platform,” said Lucie Fjeldstad, president and CEO of DataChannel, in a statement. “The combination of [Netegritys] SiteMinder and DataChannel Server 5.0 enables companies to fully optimize their information assets without compromising the integrity of that information.”

Netegrity, of Waltham, Mass., will brand, package, and immediately sell DataChannel Server 5.0 as Netegrity Interaction Server and bundle it with SiteMinder, Netegrity Delegated Management Services and Netegrity SiteMinder Affiliate Services to create the Netegrity Secure Relationship Management Suite. While the suite is available now, the integration of the products and services within the suite has not yet been completed, Netegrity officials said.

The acquisition should close in December subject to regulatory approval, officials said.