Companies are increasingly being being forced to think about security as more than a collection of discrete solutions aimed at disparate problems.

The new approach calls for executives to consider security as a problem that takes many forms and cuts across the entire company and supply chain. You need more than discrete answers. You need a common platform to systematize your efforts. And that's precisely what IBM's newly minted IBM Security Systems division is all about.

The new division intends to attack what it sees as a $94 billion a year opportunity for security-related software, a market that is growing at a CAGR of 12 percent. The new division will be led by Brendan Hannigan, CEO of Q1 Labs, which has agreed to be purchased by IBM--a company that recently passed Microsoft in market cap (what a turn of events).

Q1 Labs' offers analytics and correlation services to automatically detect security issues across an enterprise. The latest deal comes on top of more than 10 strategic security acquisitions IBM has made in the last decade and more than 25 analytics-related purchases, including the recently announced deal for i2. Other big systems integrators are also building out their security offerings. The idea here is for Q1 Labs technology to form a common security platform for IBM's software, hardware, services and research offerings, allowing Big Blue to offer more integrated and more intelligent services. More acquisitions in this area are likely.

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