Over a decade of success with on IBM mainframe

Since 1990, Security Integration has developed, sold and supported mainframe security management software that centralizes administration and improves data protection.

Beginnings
Security Integration was founded in 1990 by George Boitano, John Mulcahy and John MacDonald. Mr. Boitano's background involved extensive development experience in computer operating systems. Mr. Mulcahy had considerable expertise in high-tech recruiting, while Mr. MacDonald had held management posts in information technology for many years throughout eastern Massachusetts. Together, they incorporated the Security Integration Group, later renamed Security Integration, in January 1990. The goal from the beginning was to develop packaged security management applications for large corporations.

Initial Products and Customers
Security Integration first addressed what was then called the MSA Payroll application. This product, which integrated this application with CA-ACF2, was written for Commonwealth Energy Corporation in Cambridge, MA. Well over a decade later, it continues to protect the same payroll application (now renamed the Geac E-Series) for the same company (now renamed NSTAR). Mr. MacDonald coined the product name, Security Bridge, as it reflected the concept of bridging the gap between application and operating system security. Subsequent early customers that year included Marshalls, KMPG Peat Marwick, St. Johns River Power Park and several others.

Growth of Company and Product Line
While customers continued to purchase the Security Bridge for MSA Payroll, from the very beginning they made it clear that they wanted the Security Bridge expanded to cover a wide variety of mainframe applications. Accordingly, as the company added customers in 1991 and 1992, it also expanded the product line to include eventually all the MSA (subsequently acquired by Dun & Bradsteet) financial applications. To support this growth, the company increase its head count and raised capital via several private placements. In 1992, the company reincorporated as a class C corporation. Concurrently, Mr. Richard Connaughton assumed the role of chief executive. Mr. Connaughton brought extensive sales and upper management experience acquired in both entrepreneurial and large corporate settings. He used these skills to secure solid revenue growth throughout 1993 and 1994, as well as a vital co-marketing agreement with Dun and Bradstreet.

On the technical side, the company further expanded its product line to include the Dun & Bradstreet M Series (Millennium) applications. In 1993 the company was awarded patent 5,305,456 on its unique methodology for controlling application security.

Client-Server
Unfortunately, just as Security Integration was expanding its payroll and marketing activities, a new technology paradigm - "client-server" - was introduced with considerable fanfare into the IT marketplace. Proponents of client-server openly promised to obsolesce all large mainframe computers, replacing them with personal computers and networks. While subsequent history has more than proven the absurdity of this marketing hype, at the time many customers decided to freeze or reduce expenditures on mainframe software until the situation clarified. Thus, 1995 saw a contraction of Security Integration revenue coinciding with increased marketing and sales expenses. The result was a retrenchment in early 1996.

Profitability and Product Expansion
In 1996, Mr. Boitano assumed the role of chief executive, with the goal of returning the company to profitability while expanding the product line. The company was indeed profitable in 1996, and has been ever since. Also, 1996 saw the introduction of the Security Bridge Toolkit, and general purpose API facilitating integration of any mainframe application. This represented the ultimate expansion of the Security Integration concept within the mainframe environment.

LDAP Technology
As the myth that client-server would replace the mainframe was gradually exposed, customers began to see the mainframe as a vast data repository. Meanwhile, the first corporate internet applications were demonstrating the great value of this new technology. Security Integration customers began to request a type of "super Security Bridge" that could bring the benefits of centralized security to their emerging web applications. Security Integration subsequently began to explore a way to further generalize its technology to meet these requirements. The result, in 1999, was the Security Bridge:LDAP. This new server, in conjunction with any LDAP client, could provide the same benefits to remote web applications that the Security Bridge products already provided to mainframe applications.

Partnerships and Acquisitions
In 2000, Netegrity saw the value of this approach. As the leading provider of policy-based web security, Netegrity needed a solution that would allow their large customers to leverage the tremendous value stored in their mainframe security repositories. The Security Bridge:LDAP, being standards-based, was the logical solution. Security Integration and Netegrity subsequently entered into a distribution agreement, whereby Netegrity redistributed the Security Bridge:LDAP as the SiteMinder Security Bridge -- with considerable success throughout 2000, 2001 and 2002.

In late 2002, Rocket Software, a leading developer of mainframe systems software, with IBM as a major distribution partner, became interested in the Security Integration LDAP technology. Intrigued by the possibility of seeing its product redistributed through IBM, Security Integration sold its LDAP technology to Rocket in late 2003. Security Integration maintained ownership of its original Security Bridge product line, which it continues to enhance, market and sell to this day.

Today
Well, it turns out today that the mainframe, rather than going away, has assumed a central role in the IT infrastructure of just about every large corporation. Security Integration continues to sell its patented security solutions to large corporate customers, which need them more than ever. Still privately-held and profitable, Security Integration expects to continue to provide excellent products and support to new and existing clients well into this new Millennium.