LogMeIn Buys LastPass For $125 million

LogMeIn, the specialist remote computer access company has bought the ever popular password-management firm LastPass, for $125 million.

LogMeIn released the news in a statement last Friday, October 9^th.

While the acquisition has yet be finalized, both companies concerned expect the deal to be closed in the coming weeks.

LastPass founder and current CEO Joe Siegrist attempted to assuage concerns that were raised by its users on the company blog, writing that ”this acquisition provides us with access to resources that will enable us to innovate faster…[and that it ]…is also important to note that the current LastPass team is staying in place and remains committed to deliver on the promise of privacy, security and convenience that has been our mission since day one.”

In a similar vein of thought, LastPass new owner, LogMeIn CEO Michael Simon, announced that “LastPass has a great business, a beloved and award winning product, millions of loyal users, and thousands of great business customers…We believe this transaction instantly gives us a market leading position in password management, while also providing a highly favorable foundation for delivering the next generation of identity and access management solutions.”

LogMeIn’s buying of LastPass comes on the foot of their purchase last year of password manager Meldum. This latest move would seem to cement LogMeIn’s long term strategic goal of being the industry leader of the multibillion dollar identity and access management market.

The way business is done has evolved

The way business data is secured is rapidly changing. As more and more individuals and companies adopt cloud, web, and mobile technology to do business, and a trend toward decentralized workplace identity management, the need for new ways to secure sensitive information is increasing.

Information Overload

With the average person having to remember on average around 24 passwords , and over 64% of people admitting they use the same password for almost every site they use, the opportunity for growth in this market segment is huge.

Recent big news stories relating to both the AshleyMadison.com hacking scandal, and the US accusing China of hacking US government servers, as well as the Experian credit firm fiasco of just last week, show just how big an issue keeping secure and sensitive information really is.

Joe Siegrist also stated that LogMeIn and LastPass already shared several key aims and goals, and had broadly similar visions of where the future for their respective markets lay: “The striking commonality between our businesses, our products, and cultural DNA make this a great fit for both teams, and we believe a great win for our customers.”

A brief synopsis…

LastPass:

LastPass was founded in 2008, and makes software that generates almost unbreakable passwords and then encrypts them in secure digital vaults. The company specializes in ensuring their security software integrates seamlessly with a variety of browsers, both on desktop and mobile applications. While the basic software can be used for free, additional features must be paid for.

 LogMeIn:

LogMeIn was founded in 2003, and is a market leader in their field. The company provides remote desktop management support software to business and individuals. They also had a free version of their product that was well regarded by its users as being an exceptionally powerful tool for a free program, but it was discontinued last year.