SAP to Resell HP Fortify App Security Software in Enterprise Deal

SAP (SAP) will rebrand and resell Hewlett-Packard’s (HPQ) Fortify enterprise application security software in a deal the German business software giant said will flesh out its quality assurance portfolio and help customers spot security weaknesses in their software.

The Fortify software allows customers to identify, assess and fix security vulnerabilities in production applications and paves the way for security components to be baked into applications under development.

SAP said it will rebrand the Fortify app security solution under the SAP Fortify name to skirt customer confusion. The deal, which expands on an existing relationship between the two companies, grants SAP and its subsidiaries sales and support rights worldwide.

The Fortify deal effectively provides SAP with a full scale, end-to-end solution from quality testing to application security. SAP said the Fortify solution integrates with other its HP-supplied testing vehicles, including the SAP Quality Center application by HP and SAP LoadRunner application by HP. Fortify can also be used with the SAP Solution Manager application management solution, officials said.

“SAP and HP enjoy a long-standing relationship with a strong focus on quality assurance,” said Tom Roberts, SAP Third-Party solutions global vice president. “Offering software that integrates code-vulnerability analysis across the entire software life cycle, securing applications wherever they are deployed–on premises, in the cloud or on mobile devices around the world–is another important step in helping our customers increase productivity, lower costs and accelerate time-to-market.”

While SAP didn’t publicly say if the Fortify deal extends to its solution providers it makes sense that at some point the vendor likely will consider the prospect.

HP is somewhat of a dark horse in the security arena but the vendor’s Fortify solution recently was recognized as a major player in the application security testing market by researcher Gartner.

“An organization can suffer significant financial loss, business interruption and brand damage should it detect a vulnerability too late,” said Jason Schmitt, HP Fortify, Enterprise Security Products vice president and general manager.

“With SAP Fortify by HP, SAP customers can now enhance the management of their software security risk by enabling proactive security testing throughout the entire software development lifecycle,” he said.