Jan 22, 2002 : IBM and VeriSign Form Security Alliance

📅 January 22, 2002 - Major technology companies IBM (ibm.com) and Verisign, Inc. (verisign.com) announced on Tuesday that they have signed a technology, services and marketing agreement designed to integrate their services and influence the development of commerce and communications on the Internet.
The companies say the agreement will help determine the future of e-business, combining VeriSign's industry-leading digital trust services, authorization techniques and secure Web-based and digital transactions with IBM's powerful infrastructure and technology assets. ?IBM's alliance with VeriSign,? says Rusine Mitchell-Sinclair, IBM's general manager of safety and security services, ?marks a turning point in the delivery of technology over the Web. Our alliance will present customers with an unprecedented combination of infrastructure services and security solutions.?
According to the agreement, the companies will co-develop standards-based solutions for e-business. The organizations expect these services to include secure messaging, extranets, intranets, e-commerce sites and document management. Along with these solutions, the companies plan to develop and market a new entitlements management service based on VeriSign's managed public key infrastructure and IBM's Tivoli Policy Director security management and access control software.
In addition to working together on developing services, IBM and VeriSign will develop a global services and marketing alliance, combining the efforts of IBM's Global Services Group with VeriSign's Consulting Services Group, as well as its network of affiliates, to provide managed services and support for companies using public key infrastructure technology.
IBM will embed support for VeriSign security standards, such as XKMS and SAML, into its Trivoli Policy Director, enabling seamless XML intervaces with VeriSign's managed public key infrastructure and other trust services.
VeriSign will incorporate IBM's server and software infrastructure components into its existing IT operations.
The companies say their efforts will help to establish greater consumer trust for Internet commerce transactions. ?Consumers are beginning to look for the digital ?signposts? that ensure trusted commerce and communications,? says Stratton Sclavos, president and CEO of VeriSign. ?Our alliance with IBM reflects the importance that companies are placing on generating cost advantages and revenue opportunities by doing business in a trusted digital environment.?