Symantec has acquired MessageLabs as part of a strategy to strengthen the company’s software as a service strategy. Ironically, I think the global economic crisis will accelerate — rather than slow down — deals like this. Fast-growing companies might be more inclined to sell out at more reasonable prices rather than flying solo during these challenging economic times.

By acquiring MessageLabs, Symantec gains a SaaS system that secures more than 19,000 customers in nearly 90 countries. MessageLabs claims to have been the first company to introduce anti-viruas as a service, and the company landed in Gartner’s Magic Quadrant for e-mail security boundary services in 2008.

I’m attending Symantec’s partner conference in Washington, D.C., next week and will strive for more details about Symantec’s plans for MessageLabs. I’ll also try to determine what the move means for the Symantec Protection Network.

In the meantime, you can find some analysis about the MessageOne-Symantec combo by visiting Jeff Kaplan’s Think IT Services blog.

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