HelpSystems adds SkyView to security line-up

IBM i solutions giant HelpSystems has acquired midrange security specialist SkyView Partners.

SkyView is the fourth IBM i-focused security firm HelpSystems has bought in recent years. The Minnesota-based company took over American firms PowerTech and Bytware in 2008. It purchased Sheffield, UK-based Safestone Technologies in 2012.

All the brands involved in these earlier deals live on as part of HelpSystem’s ever-expanding portfolio and it seems that this will also be the case with Washington state-based SkyView. SkyView’s president and co-founder, Carol Woodbury, is staying on as HelpSystems’ vice president of global security services.

Woodbury is something of a household name in Power i circles. An author and speaker-circuit favourite, she had a long tenure at IBM before starting SkyView in 2002 with business partner John Vanderwall.

In a press release issued last week, she said: “As we looked to expand our global security services to more customers, we sought out a security-focused company we could complement with services and we found just that in HelpSystems.”

Although rooted in Power i, SkyView offers security and compliance solutions for AIX, Linux and Oracle JDE apps. The company has reportedly had some success with a managed services model for both i and AIX that it launched in 2012.

HelpSystems CEO Chris Heim said: “At a time when demand for system security is growing and security needs are constantly changing, the SkyView team’s experience is a great fit for HelpSystems and a compelling benefit for our customers.”