IBM Corporation plans to purchase Watchfire Corporation for an undisclosed sum and expects to close the deal in the third quarter, subject to regulatory approval. Watchfire develops software for identifying vulnerabilities in Web applications and for auditing sites for compliance with regulations on corporate governance, data privacy or accessibility. IBM plans to fold the Waltham, Massachusetts, company into its Rational division, adding Watchfire"s security compliance and quality testing functions to Rational"s software delivery tools.
Watchfire"s 800 customers currently include IBM, Dell Incorporated, Sun Microsystems Incoporated, and a host of others in the financial, pharmaceutical and entertainment industries. IBM"s Global Services division is also a partner and reseller, according to Watchfire. Watchfire developed its WebXM auditing tool in house, but obtained its flagship AppScan product through the acquisition of Sanctum Incorporated in July 2004.