Ping Identity Buys Symphonic Software To Add Policy-Driven Authorization

Ping Identity is looking to combine its Zero Trust identity-defined security with Symphonic’s technology for confirming external authorization into an integrated offering.

Identity management technology developer Ping Identity Monday expanded beyond its long-term OEM and reseller relationship with intelligent authorization technology developer Symphonic Software by acquiring the company.

Ping Identity is looking to combine its Zero Trust identity-defined security with Symphonic’s technology for confirming external authorization into an integrated offering, said Loren Russon, vice president of product for Denver-based Ping Identity.

Symphonic Software was founded in Edinburgh, Scotland, after its founders saw no easy way to easily authorize external users of an application, such as making sure a user is over 18 years old, Russon told CRN.

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“Back then, there was no easy way to do it,” he said. “Businesses found the regulations in many organizations such as hospitals were getting complex especially as they started moving to the cloud. There were only a couple of players at the time, and they were missing simple policies. Symphonic thought there had to be a simpler way to describe the actions needed.”

Ping Identity and Symphonic started working together a couple of years ago after they ran into each other doing a deployment at the Royal Bank of Scotland, Russon said.

“We were doing the multifunction authorization side with consent capture and password control, and Symphonic was doing the authorization side. We started getting to know each other at that point.”

Since then, the two have worked with each other to deliver joint offerings, Russon said. Ping Identity is currently the primary sales channel for Symphonic outside EMEA (Europe, Middle East, and Africa), he said. Ping Identity works with direct and indirect channels, he said.

Policy-based access control is increasingly important, Russon said. “Our combined solution provides policy-based and group-based access control,” he said.

Russon declined to state the purchase price for Symphonic Software.

Going forward, Russon said, there is little or no real integration work to bring the two companies’ technologies together because of their long-term OEM and reseller relationship.

“However, we will move more capabilities to SaaS environments,” he said. “We’re seeing the policy administration point moving to the cloud.”

Symphonic Software is Ping Identity’s second acquisition of 2020. Ping early last month acquired ShoCard, a developer of blockchain security technology that provides personal identity security and the ability for users to add and subtract information to the chain.