Symantec acquires MessageLabs

Symantec has announced the purchase of online messaging and web security services company MessageLabs. The announcement came at the Symantec Vision event currently being held in The Hague, Netherlands.

The deal will cost Symantec $695 million and will see it take a strong position in the software as a service (SaaS) market while at the same time entrenching its leading position in the messaging security market.

MessageLabs is currently the leading provider of online messaging security worldwide, and has over eight million users worldwide. According to Symantec the acquisition will assist them in capaitalising on cross-selling and up-selling it’s existing SaaS offerings into the MessageLabs customer base.

“MessageLabs extends our investments in the software as a service segment and will allow us to offer our customers unprecedented choice from a single provider of message security solutions. By combining MessageLabs with our Symantec network protection team, we have one of the strongest portfolios of cloud-based infrastructure services and a great foundation on which to grow,” said John W. Thompson, CEO of Symantec.

The amalgamation of MessageLabs together with the network protection team from Symantec will see the creation of a new SaaS product group. This group will set about accelerating the development of new as well as hybrid solutions.Symantec hold great hopes for the SaaS market space with analyst predicting revenues of $17 million by 2012.

According to the companies, the acquisition will mean that MessageLabs customers will now have access to Symantec protection network offerings. The small and medium channel program together with the enterprise channel program from Symantec will also expand its global access to MessageLabs products.

“Symantec and MessageLabs have a common belief in the benefits of in the cloud services and how they enable customers to be protected from threats and enforce policy,” said Adrian Chamberlain, CEO, MessageLabs.

“MessageLabs’ services help ensure that only safe and appropriate information enters and leaves the organisation. Together, with Symantec, we can set a roadmap for the future of online services,” concluded Chamberlain.