Imprivata picks up IdentiPHI assets
By L. Samuel Pfeifle
Updated Thu April 9, 2009
LEXINGTON, Mass.--In a move to build out its patent portfolio and buoy its reputation for strong authentication, single sign-on vendor Imprivata purchased this week the assets of IdentiPHI a manufacturer and reseller of biometric solutions, including legacy systems first created by Saflink. IdentiPHI purchased Saflink in a reverse merger in 2007.
Geoff Hogan, senior vice president at Imprivata, said the company spoke with Saflink when it was in financial trouble some four or five years ago, and then began discussions with IdentiPHI earlier this year. IdentiPHI was looking to raise money to continue operations, and "then we took a harder look at what they really had," said Hogan.
Imprivata decided the SAFsolution product line, along with the biometric patents and other intellectual property, was worth the investment. The company secured a $15 million investment roughly one year ago for these kinds of growth opportunities.
Most IdentiPHI employees will not be retained, though "there will be some people helping us through the transition," Hogan said, and some may stay on. Also, though IdentiPHI did do some systems integration work, Imprivata won't be changing its channel model with the acquisition. Many IdentiPHI partners will also be brought into the Imprivata partner program.
Hogan said the buy would primarily affect its IT-oriented business, but as the company increasingly works with integrators selling converged solutions, leveraging the OneSign platform, there is bleed over from one side of the business to the other.
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