Securent, one of the first companies in Microsoft’s Startup Accelerator Program, was recently acquired by Cisco for $100M.

Securent provides a cross-platform, cross-application software solution that gives companies fine-grained control over who gets access to their information. For example, administrators can determine who can join a web conference, which SharePoint sites a certain user or group of users can access, and how long a support technician can view a customer record.

One of Securent’s most interesting applications is enforcing the Chinese Wall between a firm’s investment bankers and equity research analysts. Compliance officers can specify a policy like “bankers cannot talk to analysts” which will block all forms of communications including email, instant messaging and phone calls. A less draconian policy might be “bankers cannot read any analyst materials before they are published” in which case only documents in a SharePoint library tagged “published” can be accessed by bankers.

My team has worked closely with Securent to facilitate the integration of their technology with SharePoint Server 2007 and Office Communications Server 2007. This has been a truly win-win partnership – our products benefited from the value add of Securent’s technology, enabling our sales force to close crucial deals; while Securent received a huge boost in demand for their solution and credibility from standing side-by-side with Microsoft while pitching to some of the largest financial institutions in the world – factors no doubt contributing positively to the economic value of the company.

We congratulate Securent’s management team on the successful transaction, and wish them all the best in their new home with Cisco.