Oracle today announced that it has completed the acquisition of Oblix, Inc., a privately held developer of identity-based security solutions for heterogeneous computing environments. Founded in 1996 in Cupertino, Calif., Oblix is a leading developer of identity management software that allows web access control including Single Sign On (SSO), identity administration and user provisioning. Oblix also provides security and regulatory compliance solutions.

Oblix's technology complements the identity and access management solutions currently available in Oracle Identity Management and included as part of Oracle Application Server 10g.

"This acquisition will allow Oracle to offer customers a complete solution for securely managing identities; one that is even more flexible, scalable, and integrated and helps customers lower the cost of regulatory compliance," said Thomas Kurian, senior vice president, Oracle Server Technologies. "These capabilities will further enhance Oracle's market-leading security infrastructure. We are very pleased to be joining with Oblix to provide a new level of security and service to our customers."

"The strength of Oblix's leading identity management solutions combined with Oracle's worldwide presence and its extensive software and services business will bring to customers an unprecedented ability to build identity into their software infrastructure and applications," said Gordon Eubanks, president and CEO, Oblix. "This combination represents the future direction of security software."

Gartner Lists Oblix in Leader Quadrant

In June 2004, Gartner listed Oblix in the 1H04 Extranet Access Management Leaders' Quadrant* for completeness of vision and ability to execute. According to Gartner, "Acquisitions and suite functionality are redefining identity and access management as an enterprise infrastructure, rather than a point solution."

Burton Group Views Acquisition Favorably

"This acquisition is a positive move by Oracle and a natural step for Oblix given the new realities of the identity management market," said Phil Schacter, vice president, Security and Identity Management, Burton Group. "The new combined product set will provide an integrated identity and access management solution for Oracle customers and further extends this solution to support a heterogeneous environment."

Customers Welcome Integrated Solution

"We are very excited about this merger because we have a strong relationship with both Oracle and Oblix," said Jim McDonald, manager of IT, Ingersoll-Rand, which provides climate control, infrastructure, security and safety solutions for companies worldwide. "We feel this combination will help our company expand its identity management tools and the Oblix identity management tools will serve to strengthen the Oracle application suite in terms of security."

"Oracle and Oblix are a strong fit, I'm glad to see the combination happening and we are looking forward to an enterprise identity management solution that's integrated with our Oracle technology stack and applications," said Ken Macpherson, director of Oracle technologies, CampusEAI Consortium, a Cleveland-based, non-profit organization providing digital content for the education community. "We are excited about the combination of the companies and the breadth this adds to Oracle's security product portfolio."

Organizations around the world rely on Oblix to meet their identity needs, including American Airlines, British Airways, CEMEX, Chicago Board of Trade, Cisco Systems, Flextronics, General Dynamics, General Motors, Hitachi, Ingersoll-Rand, Norsk Hydro and the United States Postal Service.

Oracle to Scale the Combined Business Quickly

Oracle intends to scale the merged Oracle and Oblix security business rapidly. The Oblix products, including COREid, SHAREid, and COREsv, will continue to be available on a stand-alone basis. Oracle will also include the best features and capabilities of Oblix into its broader identity infrastructure offering. On a combined basis, the acquisition of Oblix enables Oracle to accelerate its position as a leading identity management software vendor.