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Enterprise security software maker Ping Identity on Aug. 2 improved its frontline identity-as-a-service product with the acquisition of UnboundID, a provider of customer identity and access management software. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
Austin, Texas-based UnboundID makes the security-access process a more personal experience for users by remembering them, thereby helping enterprises improve customer engagement. The acquisition is intended to improve how companies acquire, engage, manage and retain customers across all channels and devices.
A major longer-term consideration: UnboundID also improves Ping’s ability to provide enterprises with scalable solutions to manage internet-of-things devices and secure non-employee access to corporate applications and data.
Highly-Scalable User Directory a Key factor
With the addition of UnboundID, the Ping Identity Platform adds a highly scalable user directory for social login, customer preference and profile management. The directory will be combined with Ping’s existing multi-factor authentication, single sign-on and secure access capabilities.
Ping Identity enables employees, customers and contractors to access the cloud and on-premise applications they need using an enterprise cloud service that includes multi-factor authentication, single sign-on and access security.
The Denver-based company allows users to access software-as-a-service apps such as Box, Dropbox, Salesforce.com and Google Drive with a single login. Ping’s software is also used by financial services and health care providers to enable customers to use their websites without having to deal with multiple login pages.
If required, PingID also can add additional layers of security without using passwords, such as personal-information questions. It also has a location feature that can block login attempts from specified areas.
‘Personalized, Consistent User Experience’
“Delivering a personalized and consistent customer experience across all channels is core to many digital transformation initiatives,” Ping Identity CEO Andre Durand said. “UnboundID has clearly earned the trust of global brands as one of the highest-performing user and identity directories on the market.”
The two companies have been partners for nearly two years and share more than 20 enterprise customers across the U.S., EMEA and Asia. These include Cisco Systems, Intuit, Telus and Wawa. The combined company provides IAM solutions for more than half of the Fortune 100 and manages more than 3 billion identities.
Ping Identity’s customers include Boeing, Cisco Systems, The Disney Company, GE, Kraft Foods, TIAA and Walgreens.
UnboundID CEO Steve Shoaff will join the Ping Identity executive team as chief product officer, responsible for all of the engineering and product management for the joint company.
This acquisition is the first for Ping Identity since being acquired by Vista Equity Partners in July 2016. Vista invests in software, data, and technology-based organizations, with more than $24 billion in cumulative capital commitments.