CA buys firewall developer Tiny Software

Computer Associates International (CA) announced Monday its acquisition of Tiny Software, a Santa Clara, California, developer whose firewall software will be added to CA's eTrust security portfolio. Financial terms of the all-cash deal were not disclosed.

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Six-year-old, privately held Tiny had a staff of less than 20, all of whom have joined Islandia, New York-based CA, said Sam Curry, CA's vice president of eTrust security management. The acquisition closed in late May, and CA is continuing to sell Tiny's software as stand-alone products. Tiny also had an OEM (original equipment manufacturer) relationship with licensee customers, including Microsoft and Unisys. CA will offer the technology to its own OEM partners, Curry said.

CA plans to incorporate Tiny's firewall technology into its Integrated Threat Management platform, an under-development product CA plans to launch later this year. The idea is to bundle various desktop protection technologies into one system with a common interface. The platform will launch with CA's antivirus and antispyware technology, and a later version will add Tiny's firewall software, Curry said.

For now, Tiny Firewall is priced at US$50 per user for the desktop version and $200 for a server license, Curry said. Pricing may change when the software is added to CA's Integrated Threat Management product, but CA also expects to continue offering the software as a stand-alone product, he said.