GMO GlobalSign Acquires Ubisecure

PRESS RELEASE

BOSTON, MA--(Marketwired - Sep 30, 2014) - GMO GlobalSign (www.globalsign.com), the security division of the Tokyo-based GMO Internet Group (TSE: 9449) and a leading provider of identity services for online transactions, announced the acquisition of Helsinki-based Ubisecure Solutions, Inc., a privately-held identity and access management (IAM) software developer. The acquisition delivers essential technology and talent to propel GlobalSign's strategic focus on identity services for the rapidly emerging, $14.4 trillion¹ Internet of Everything (IoE) market, where the ability to make secure networked connections among people, processes, data and things, will require that every "thing" have a trusted identity.

Ubisecure is recognized as a product leader in Access Management & Federation by Europe's leading information security analyst firm KuppingerCole -- a market that is expected to reach $7 billion by 2017.² Ubisecure's access control, single sign-on (SSO), federation and delegation services, along with massive scalability, are the product of a 53 man-year R&D investment. The software is used by an impressive number of government agencies, financial institutions and enterprises in Europe, and deployed with the help of over 150 strategic partners, including system integration leaders CapGemini and CGI.

"Ubisecure provides the essential technology and talent needed to execute on our strategy to become the identity services leader for the Internet of Everything, mediating trust to enable safe commerce, communications, content delivery and community interactions for billions of transactions, around the world, in every moment," stated Paul Tourret, managing director. "This acquisition provides immediate revenue opportunity as we complement our product portfolio and deliver Ubisecure's existing IAM solutions to a broader market though our sales and channel organization, and an exciting future as a strategically critical embedded technology in our IoE identity services platform."

GlobalSign is one of the world's leading publicly-trusted Certificate Authorities, verifying and authenticating identities for websites, organizations, devices, documents and code. Its digital certificates have been embedded in millions of OEM devices, including trusted platform modules (TPMs), signing solutions, routers and wireless devices. With over 5,000 distributors in over 100 countries, and its strong background in identity verification, real-time authentication, security as a service solutions and now IAM, GlobalSign has the products, technical expertise and vision to become the leading provider of identity services for the Internet of Everything.

"The Ubisecure product is highly attractive for service providers and governments due to its specific features for use cases that require a strong focus on the integration of customers or citizens at large scale," said Martin Kuppinger, founder of KuppingerCole. "Providing massive scalability is a must to extend IAM to the IoT, where every 'thing' has its own identity."

"GlobalSign's vast worldwide organization and channels will allow us to bring our IAM solutions to a global market," stated Charles Sederholm, chief executive officer of Ubisecure. "We share a common vision for identity services, both for today's enterprises that need elegant IAM solutions, and for the billions of connected 'things' that will require identities and interactions in ways we have yet to imagine. We are very excited to be part of GlobalSign, and know we'll achieve greatness together."

The entire Ubisecure team is expected to join GlobalSign, which intends to invest in and develop an IAM center of excellence in Helsinki, an exciting hub of innovation. Additional terms of the deal were not disclosed.

About GMO GlobalSign
GlobalSign (www.globalsign.com) has been a trust service provider since 1996 with a singular focus on providing convenient and highly productive PKI solutions for organizations of all sizes. Its Digital Certificate solutions allow billions of customers worldwide to conduct SSL-secured transactions with authenticated businesses, transfer data, distribute tamper-proof code, and protect online identities for secure email and access control. The company has local offices in the US, Europe and throughout Asia. For the latest news on GlobalSign visit www.globalsign.com or follow GlobalSign on Twitter (@globalsign).

GMO Internet Group
GMO Internet Group is a comprehensive provider of industry-leading Internet solutions including domain name registration, cloud-based and traditional hosting, ecommerce, security, and payment processing services that each hold the top share of their respective markets in Japan. Other key business areas for the Group include online securities/FX trading, Internet advertising, search engine marketing, and smartphone game development and publishing. GMO Internet, Inc. (TSE: 9449) is headquartered in Tokyo, Japan. For more information please visit: www.gmo.jp/en.

About Ubisecure
Ubisecure Solutions Inc. is a pioneering provider of standardized identity and access management solutions that pave the way for a smoother and safer Internet. Its software products enable new online business concepts and speed the growth of existing web-based operations by joining separate sites and services into larger trusted areas. Ubisecure maintains an extensive network of partners that offer organizations advice, consulting and technical services; and provides high-level training in secure online business through its Ubisecure IAM Academy. For more information please visit: www.ubisecure.com

¹ "The Possibilities of The Internet of Everything Economy" a blog by Cisco CEO John Chambers, February 18, 2013
² Framingham, MA-based analyst firm, IDC, as cited at http://www.idc.com/getdoc.jsp?containerId=241685 

Contact Information