FishNet Catches Logic Trends In ID Management Play

FishNet announced the acquisition Tuesday, saying it fills major gaps in the resellers' identity management services unit. "Looking at how (Logic Trends) approached identity and access management made us realize we were way off and we weren't even approaching it at near the level that we should to be successful," Gary Fish, chief executive for Kansas City, Mo.-based FishNet, said. The purchase price was not disclosed.

Logic Trends is more than a reseller of identity management products. The Roswell, Ga.-based company is primarily a services business that combines its own technology with that of other companies in building identity management systems. The company has 70 employees who will join FishNet, pushing its workforce to more than 500 workers.

Logic Trends' revenue this year is between $15 million and $20 million, which FishNet expects to double next year, Fish said. "This is a huge shot in the arm to our services capabilities." FishNet projects overall revenue in 2012 to increase 30 percent to more than $500 million. In 2010, Fishnet had more than $300 million in revenue.

Identity management work is expected to be a significant contributor to that growth. The worldwide market will rise to nearly $12 billion by 2013 from $9.9 billion in 2010, according to researcher Gartner. Driving that growth is the increasing use of mobile devices among employees and the rising adoption of cloud services. Identity management is critical in those areas to secure access to data sitting in the cloud or to securely connect to a corporate network via smartphone or tablet.

FishNet, which has more than 5,000 customers, is planning to use Logic Trends to boost its cloud and mobility practices. "The timing is perfect," Fish said of the acquisition. In expanding those practices, FishNet expects to increase sales of products from partners. Logic Trends' technology partners included Microsoft, CA, Centrify, Hewlett-Packard, IBM, Oracle and RSA Security.

Logic Trends won't be FishNet's last acquisition. The company is looking at potential candidates for next year in the security systems integration market and expects to acquire at least one company. "I would venture to say, you may see another acquisition out of FishNet next year," Fish said. "There's nothing currently definitive in the works, but we've got a bunch of feelers out."

The integration market is ripe for consolidation because manufacturers of products want to work with fewer partners, a trend that would favor large security resellers. As a result, many regional companies are looking to get folded into vendors with a national reach, according to Fish. "We believe we're in a position to be the lead consolidator in this space."