A British Columbia maker of integrated two factor authentication, single sign on and password management solutions has been snapped up by a provider of cloud-based IT management for service providers and enterprises.
Scorpion Software of Chiliwack, which makes the server-based AuthAnvil User Authentication Suite that can manage passwords for applications from Microsoft Office 365, Citrix and  Salesforce, is now part of Boston-based Kaseya.
Scorpion’s platform already integrates with Kaseya’s applications and the two have been long-time partners.
In an interview this morning Kaseya CEO Yogesh Gupta said the deal came about after several customers told him the company needed to offer more security capabilities. The existing partnership was one of the reasons it bought Scorpion.
As a result of the deal Scorpion will be expanding its staff, added company founder Dana Epp.
Epp stepped aside a year ago to be chief technology officer so B.C. IT executive and entrepreneur Barry Carlson could be CEO. Carlson had several senior management positions in B.C.-based IT and electronics manufacturing firms and was an angel investor. He isn’t staying with the new ownership. Epp, however will become Kaseya’s principal security architect.
Scorpion and Kaseya have several common customers in Canada, including Vancouver’s Vivonet Inc.., a transaction processing service provider for the restaurant industry. Kaseya customers include Bulletproof InfoTech, an Alberta IT support company for small businesses; and Nucleus Networks, an IT support and managed security provider with offices in Vancouver and Toronto.
“We have a lot of mutual customers,” Epp said. “It was a really good fit … Kaseya can extend our reach, provide the resources to take that to the next level. And more importantly Kaseya has a vision for the next generation cloud, which is very exciting for us. Identity and access management is a core component of providing the ability to prove who you say you are when you access sensitive resources. By merging the two product stacks together we can extend and do that in a very unique and interesting way.”
AuthAnvil can manage passwords on desktop, iOS and BlackBerry devices.
Scorpion’s latest release is AuthAnvil Password Server 2.5, which has a new interface. which lets administrators create device associations for storing passwords. All device-related passwords can be stored in one place. Administrators can also map a single password to several associations, allowing the tracking of  credentials across hosts, like domain administrator credentials that need to be available to several key systems.
AuthAnvil is used by over 500 managed service providers in 20 countries.
In June Kaseya released version 7.0 of its flagship Virtual System Administrator (VSA), which includes remote desktop management; integrated network monitoring from a single screen for network, system, client and mobile device management; simplified management and administration of Microsoft SharePoint Online; enhanced mobile device application support; dashboards for IT administrators; and seamless integration with the latest Intuit QuickBooks.
Other products include BYOD Suite (which includes secure browser, documents and email containers for mobile workers); Traverse (cloud-based application and network monitoring); and 365 Command (allows IT organizations and MSPs to manage and administer the Microsoft Office 365 cloud application suite).
Both companies sell through system providers or integrators. The acquisition will allow authorized Scorpion partners to resell Kaseya solutions if they wish.
