Right on the heels of HP’s acquisition of ArcSight, IBM is launching their new business protection software to help companies safeguard SharePoint, SAP and other major applications. Guardium 8 is designed for security automation, application usage monitoring and other complex data threats. Read on for the details and implications…

IBM is positioning Guardium 8 as the solution for security threats in a constantly dynamic environment that has attackers not just on the outside, but on the inside. Theses data breaches and ‘complex threats’ — according to industry research cited by IBM — can cost between $100 and $200 “per compromised record.”

Enter InfoSphere Guardium 8 whose purpose is to provide “a single set of automated and centralized controls” for all databases and applications. Centralized control means easier control and clients can help keep tabs on information to maintain corporate compliance and potential audits.

Other features include:

There’s a huge detailed feature list over at IBM’s press release if you’re interested, but if you’re already a Guardium believer, you can get your hands on the software mid-September 2010, either as a pre-configured appliance or a VM for your convenience.

The IBM Guardium 8 release arrives as HP acquires ArcSight for roughly $1.5 billion. The ArcSight deal could help HP to push deeper into enterprise security and compliance. ArcSight could also help HP to work more closely with managed security service providers.

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