IBM has announced that on July 20 it completed the acquisition of Watchfire Corp., a privately held security and compliance testing software company based in Waltham, Mass.

IBM announced a definitive agreement to acquire Watchfire, a leading provider of Web application vulnerability assessment and compliance solutions, on June 6, to help customers guard against online security attacks and compliance breaches.

The acquisition extends the IBM governance and risk management strategy by broadening security and compliance management capabilities in the software development lifecycle. Successfully managing IT governance and risk management as a lifecycle is critical as businesses today are facing increasing globalization, staggering regulatory complexity and an ever-evolving security threat landscape.

Watchfire helps customers manage Web application security and Web content quality and compliance to help ensure the business integrity of their online businesses. The combination of Watchfire and IBM will help customers integrate Web application security and compliance management early on and throughout the software development processùeffectively allowing them to define, test, and track the compliance of their applications with security, legal, and corporate guidelines.

"For the past 11 years, Watchfire has provided customers with innovative and effective web application security software to help minimize exposure to personal information, customer records and corporate intellectual property," said Dr. Danny Sabbah, general manager, IBM Rational software. "Watchfire technology incorporated into the IBM Rational software delivery platform will help our customers address online security and compliance management requirements early in the software development processùbefore their applications go live."

IBM is integrating its Rational software quality management solutions with Watchfire's security and compliance testing services to enhance and simplify the Web application development process. With the ability to create applications with protective measures against attacks, infringement, and violations of compliance standards, customers will be able to deliver better products to market faster while reducing costs and improving efficiency in the application development process. As part of the IBM Rational software delivery platform, Watchfire also complements existing IBM Tivoli identity, access and compliance management software offerings and IBM Internet Security Systems by extending security and compliance testing as an integrated element of the application development lifecycle.

"Watchfire has long been committed to helping customers avoid online security breaches," said Peter McKay, vice president, Watchfire, IBM Rational software and former CEO of Watchfire Corp. "With the Watchfire technology fully integrated into the Rational portfolio, our customers will be able to guard against online attacks long before they happen. By integrating Watchfire technology early in the software development process, IBM will help customers deliver more secure and compliant applications to the market."

In addition to Watchfire, IBM has added several governance and risk management capabilities through recent acquisitions in its Global Technology Services and Software Group divisions, including Internet Security Systems, Consul, FileNet and Micromuse.

For more information, visit IBM.