EMC to Acquire Archer Technologies, Leading Provider of IT Governance Risk and Compliance Software

HOPKINTON, Mass., Jan. 4 /PRNewswire/ -- EMC Corporation (NYSE: EMC), the world leader in information infrastructure solutions, today announced that it has signed a definitive agreement to acquire Kansas-based Archer Technologies - a privately-held, fast-growing provider of governance, risk and compliance (GRC) software. The acquisition will build upon EMC's expertise and leadership in helping customers better visualize and manage risk throughout their IT infrastructure. EMC's acquisition of Archer is expected to close in Q1 2010, subject to customary closing conditions. The transaction is not expected to have a material impact to revenue or EPS for the full 2010 fiscal year.

The combination of Archer with industry-leading technologies for information risk management and information security from EMC's RSA Security Division will significantly extend EMC's powerful solutions portfolio for visualizing and managing risk, enabling customers to automate GRC visibility and policy enforcement across both physical and virtualized IT environments. Archer will remain in Overland Park, Kansas upon completion of the acquisition and operate as a part of RSA, The Security Division of EMC.

"Traditional security management focuses primarily on addressing technology issues, but our customers are telling us that their real challenges are in the areas of policy management, audit and compliance," said Art Coviello, President, RSA, The Security Division of EMC. "You can't manage what you can't see. The Archer solution not only offers the visibility into risk and compliance that customers need, it brings stronger policy management capabilities to the RSA portfolio. The end result is customers are able to better manage their security programs and prove compliance across both physical and virtual infrastructures, and effectively communicate to the business."

With more than six million licensed users and a client list that already includes 25 of the Fortune 100, Archer delivers automated, integrated and sustainable GRC solutions for managing the lifecycle of corporate policies and objectives, analyzing and managing business risks, and demonstrating compliance. Archer's out-of-the-box solutions, including Policy, Risk, Compliance, Enterprise, Incident, Vendor, Threat, Business Continuity, and Audit Management, are built on the flexible Archer SmartSuite Framework(TM), allowing clients to tailor the solutions according to their unique requirements. Whether deployed on-premise or via Archer's SaaS model, the framework has become a go-to GRC platform for many global organizations.

Archer's technology, coupled with RSA's solutions for data loss prevention (DLP) and security information and event management (SIEM), will provide customers with a broader set of IT-GRC solutions, ranging from policy orchestration and powerful security controls through real-time security event management and remediation. Archer's technology will also benefit from complementary solutions such as EMC Ionix(TM), helping customers automate IT configuration change and compliance across server, network, and storage environments - both physical and virtual.

"Putting the resources of EMC and its RSA Security Division behind us will bring tremendous leverage to our technology development, customer support, partner ecosystem and go-to-market capabilities," said Jon Darbyshire, CEO of Archer Technologies. "We are in 25 percent of the Fortune 100 companies today, but EMC's customers include nearly 100 percent of them. With EMC's global reach, we will gain the scale we need to expand our market penetration while continuing our strong tradition of customer-driven innovation."

"With Archer, we can also make information security a more integrated element of overall IT-GRC efforts," added Coviello. "We can help customers unify their visibility and processes across security, business continuity, configuration management and a range of broader IT compliance tasks."

According to an independent February 2009 Forrester Research, Inc. report titled The GRC Technology Puzzle: Getting All The Pieces To Fit, "Organizations that better coordinate their governance, risk, and compliance processes have the potential to reduce the cost of audits, streamline compliance reporting, identify and mitigate risks, and deliver insight for more informed strategic decisions. While organizations can achieve many of these benefits without investing in new technologies, software often provides the foundation for efficiency, consistency, and repeatability required for continued GRC success."

Archer will provide EMC with a flexible platform of broad enterprise GRC capabilities that will augment the security and governance, risk, and compliance capabilities of EMC Consulting, a line of business of EMC Global Services. These capabilities will be leveraged by Archer and EMC's extensive partner ecosystems and be expanded over time.

"Operating in a cost-reduced environment amid a tough marketplace, with heightened governmental oversight and a promise of more regulations in 2010, poses significant challenges for today's boards and management, who also face rising expectations from stakeholders," said Greg Bell, Principal and Global Services Leader for KPMG's Information Protection practice. "It becomes more important for organizations to secure their business intelligence, manage enterprise risks, comply with regulatory standards and provide corporate oversight in a holistic fashion. The announcement by EMC and Archer indicates a continuing trend of service organizations joining to leverage their unique capabilities in a way that will help companies meet the challenges of today's market."

About Archer

Archer Technologies delivers enterprise governance, risk and compliance (GRC) solutions. With more than six million licensed users and a client list that includes one in four of the Fortune 100, Archer enables companies to manage enterprise risks, demonstrate compliance, automate business processes, and gain visibility into corporate risk and security controls.

Archer's out-of-the-box solutions, including Policy, Risk, Compliance, Enterprise, Incident, Vendor, Threat, Business Continuity, and Audit Management, are built on the flexible Archer SmartSuite Framework(TM), allowing clients to tailor the solutions according to their unique requirements. Whether deployed on-premise or via Archer's SaaS model, the framework has become a go-to GRC platform for many global organizations.

Archer is the only vendor that delivers the Archer GRC Ecosystem(TM) comprised of out-of-the-box solutions, a flexible Framework, a robust user community, and an application and partner exchange, which provides clients the tools they need to build a best-in-class enterprise GRC program. For more information, visit www.archer.com or call Archer Technologies at 1-888-539-EGRC.

About EMC

EMC Corporation (NYSE: EMC) is the world's leading developer and provider of information infrastructure technology and solutions that enable organizations of all sizes to transform the way they compete and create value from their information. Information about EMC's products and services can be found at www.EMC.com.

EMC and Ionix are registered trademarks or trademarks of EMC Corporation. RSA is a registered trademark of RSA Security Inc. Archer SmartSuite Framework and Archer GRC Ecosystem are trademarks of Archer Technologies. All other product and company names herein may be trademarks of their respective owners.

This release contains "forward-looking statements" as defined under the Federal Securities Laws. Actual results could differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements as a result of certain risk factors, including but not limited to: (i) adverse changes in general economic or market conditions; (ii) delays or reductions in information technology spending; (iii) our ability to protect our proprietary technology; (iv) risks associated with managing the growth of our business, including risks associated with acquisitions and investments and the challenges and costs of integration, restructuring and achieving anticipated synergies; (v) fluctuations in VMware, Inc.'s operating results and risks associated with trading of VMware stock; (vi) competitive factors, including but not limited to pricing pressures and new product introductions; (vii) the relative and varying rates of product price and component cost declines and the volume and mixture of product and services revenues; (viii) component and product quality and availability; (ix) the transition to new products, the uncertainty of customer acceptance of new product offerings and rapid technological and market change; (x) insufficient, excess or obsolete inventory; (xi) war or acts of terrorism; (xii) the ability to attract and retain highly qualified employees; (xiii) fluctuating currency exchange rates; (xiv) litigation that we may be involved in; and (xv) other one-time events and other important factors disclosed previously and from time to time in EMC's filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. EMC disclaims any obligation to update any such forward-looking statements after the date of this release.

SOURCE EMC Corporation