Mona Vale, Australia December 5th, 2002 - Agreon, Australia's only vendor-independent systems integrator specialising solely in identity management and OpenNetwork Technologies , a leading Web single sign-on and identity management security software solutions company and today announced a global partnership designed to fulfill access management needs of companies in the Australian and New Zealand markets.

Australia and New Zealand-based companies can now leverage OpenNetwork's access management security solution while benefiting from technical and consulting support from Agreon.

"OpenNetwork's DirectorySmart is the ideal choice companies with significant investments in Microsoft infrastructures seeking an end-to-end e-business security solution," said Brian Brannigan, managing director for Agreon. "Enterprises in the Asia Pacific market are just beginning to look for and understand the benefits of comprehensive identity management solutions. Agreon's partnership with OpenNetwork enables us to offer our current and prospective customers the opportunity to leverage the unique directory-based architecture of DirectorySmart and reap the security benefits, with a quick implementation time and rapid return on investment."

"Teaming with Agreon, Australia's leading identity management integrator, is consistent with OpenNetwork's strategy to expand its global footprint and to maximize its penetration into large Asia Pacific enterprises seeking to secure their e-business critical applications. OpenNetwork is now able to deliver a seamless security solution to top enterprises in the region," stated Adrien Ransom, vice president of marketing and alliances, OpenNetwork. "This partnership provides a solution that will enable e-businesses across the globe with a seamless and flexible security solution that will deliver competitive advantages-such as increased productivity, security and lower administration costs-for any company in the marketplace."

Agreon is a vendor independent professional services company specialising in Identity Management solutions, managing who gets access to what. Strategically positioned in the industry, Agreon has pioneered user administration in the region since its inception, raising the profile and understanding of business benefit among Australia and New Zealand’s largest organisations. Agreon, privately held and funded, is based in Mona Vale New South Wales, Agreon counts Australia’s largest organisations among its customers.

OpenNetwork measurably reduces the cost of identity management security by providing large businesses with a non-intrusive platform that transparently maps to enterprise environments. OpenNetwork offers the only true directory-centric identity management platform, providing a flexible architecture that scales to support millions of users with demonstrated performance and ease of management. With a track record of on-time deployment, OpenNetwork consistently solves complex security problems while delivering a rapid return on investment. OpenNetwork is headquartered in Tampa Bay, FL, with offices throughout North America and Europe.