IBM (IBM) has acquired Lincoln, Rhode Island-based identity and access management (IAM) platform provider Lighthouse Security Group. Financial terms of the acquisition were not disclosed.

Lighthouse Security Group is a subsidiary of IBM partner Lighthouse Computer Services, and its Gateway platform “protects identity and data in an increasingly complex IT environment where more company information is being stored in the cloud and accessed from mobile devices.”

Latha Maripuri, director of IBM Security Services, told Talkin’ Cloud she believes the acquisition will help her company develop and launch new identity management solutions and ensure its customers can better manage their IT security deployments.

“This acquisition provides a cloud platform for us to build our future identity management offerings,” she said.

Lighthouse Security Group has developed an identity management platform that corresponds to IBM’s goal to create solutions that customers can leverage for different use cases as well, Maripuri noted.

3 things you need to know about IBM’s acquisition

What does IBM’s acquisition mean for cloud services providers (CSPs)? Here are three things you need to know about the transaction:

“Business models are rapidly evolving as employees conduct more of their work offsite. Protecting this data and who has access to it has become a challenge, costing our clients time and money,” Lovejoy said in a prepared statement. “With this acquisition, IBM provides a unique identity and access management offering that combines proven software and analytics technology with expert managed services that make it easy for businesses to tackle the complexities of security in this new digital world.”

Lighthouse Security Group is one of several IT security providers IBM has purchased recently.

IBM also added CrossIdeas, a privately held Italian security software provider, to its portfolio last month.

Share your thoughts about this story in the Comments section below, via Twitter @dkobialka or email me at [email protected].