GlobalSign, one of the world’s biggest certificate authorities and a leading provider of digital identity services, has announced today that it has acquired Ubisecure, a Finnish privately held software development company specializing in Identity and Access Management solutions.
Last year, KuppingerCole has recognized Ubisecure as a product leader in our Leadership Compass on Access Management and Federation. Support for a broad range of authentication methods including national ID cards and banking cards, as well as integrated identity management capabilities with configurable registration workflows have been noted as the product’s strengths. However, it is the solution’s focus on enabling identity services on a large scale, targeted at governments and service providers, which KuppingerCole has noted as Ubisecure’s primary strength.
Unfortunately, until recently the Helsinki-based company has only been present in EMEA (mainly in the Nordic countries), obviously lacking resources to maintain a strong partner network. GlobalSign’s large worldwide presence with 9 international offices and over 5000 reseller partners provides a unique possibility to bring Ubisecure’s technology to a global market quickly and with little effort.
GlobalSign, established in 1996, is one of the oldest and biggest, as well as reportedly the fastest growing certificate authorities on the market. After becoming a part of the Japanese group of companies GMO Internet Inc. in 2006, GlobalSign has been steadily expanding its enterprise presence with services like enterprise PKI, cloud-based managed SSL platform, and strategic collaborations with cloud service providers. With the acquisition of Ubisecure, the company is launching its new long-term strategy of becoming a leading provider of end-to-end identity services for smart connected devices, powering the so-called Internet of Everything.
Market analysts currently estimate that up to 50 billion of such devices (or simply “things”) will be connecting to the Internet within the next 10 years. This may well be the largest technology market in history, with over $14 trillion at stake. Needless to say, the new trend brings new critical challenges that have to be addressed, such as device security and malware protection, however, probably the biggest of all is going to be providing identity services on a massive scale, mediating trust for billions on online transactions between people and “things” every minute and ensuring safety of e-commerce, communications, and content delivery.
A company that manages to bring a service with such capabilities to the market first will definitely be in a very attractive position, and GlobalSign, with their strong background in identity-related solutions, massive existing customer base and a large partner network, is aspiring to grab that position by making Ubisecure’s innovative technology available globally. Time will tell how well they can compete against technological giants on the market, as well as against other API vendors with strong IAM background (Ping Identity and CA / Layer 7 come to mind). Still, recognizing a rare combination of innovative technology and solid market presence, we believe them to be a player in the market that is definitely worth looking at.