Although not as big as other recent acquisitions of ISS by IBM or Network Intelligence by EMC, Mcafee's acquisition of Citadel Security Software for $60M is more evidence of increasing M&A; pickup and ongoing consolidation in the security space. It's also indicative of the need for pureplay security companies to get serious in leveraging acquisitions as a means for product line expansion and growth.

Mcafee will add policy compliance and vulnerability remediation to its extensive portfolio of products that include the Intrushield IPS and its well known antivirus offering. I think it's a good move for any large "pure play" security company like Mcafee to bolster its position by increasing its product portfolio with best of breed technology.

In this regard, it's a solid tactical acquisition for Mcafee.