Cisco Systems Inc. on Thursday announced a $100 million agreement to buy venture-backed Securent Inc., a three-year-old company that makes security software to help companies better manage different tiers of application users.
Mountain View, Calif.-based Securent, which has 57 employees, has received venture financing from Greylock Partners of San Mateo, Calif., and Onset Ventures of Menlo Park, Calif.
Securent makes so-called policy management software, which advances security beyond basic gatekeeper, or single sign-on, technology to enable companies to manage different security levels for different employees. It also helps companies secure application data across different platforms, while at the same time letting employees and collaborators outside the company have access to the content they need.
Cisco said this sort of advanced security technology is ever more important at a time when company employees increasingly are creating content and collaborating over the Internet. The acquisition is one of a series of purchases of security technology companies Cisco has made recently, reflecting its interest in incorporating security features into its range of networking products.
Earlier this year, Cisco acquired Reactivity Inc., a maker of software used to safeguard corporate computer networks, as well as Broadware Technologies Inc., a maker of video surveillance software to enable Web-based monitoring.
Separately Thursday, the San Jose, Calif., networking giant unveiled an initiative to nearly double its investment in China. Cisco, which established a presence in China in 1994, said the total value of its investments there today is about $8.5 billion, and should increase to roughly $16 billion over five years.
The initiative also calls for increased procurement by Cisco of local goods in China and the establishment there of Cisco's first global green technology center.
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