Intel announced the purchase of McAfee.
SANTA CLARA, Calif., Aug. 19, 2010 – Intel Corporation has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire McAfee, Inc., through the purchase of all of the company’s common stock at $48 per share in cash, for approximately $7.68 billion. Both boards of directors have unanimously approved the deal, which is expected to close after McAfee shareholder approval, regulatory clearances and other customary conditions specified in the agreement.
Most will focus on this as the reason for Intel's acquisition.
The acquisition reflects that security is now a fundamental component of online computing. Today’s security approach does not fully address the billions of new Internet-ready devices connecting, including mobile and wireless devices, TVs, cars, medical devices and ATM machines as well as the accompanying surge in cyber threats. Providing protection to a diverse online world requires a fundamentally new approach involving software, hardware and services.
What caught my eye though is this statement.
Inside Intel, the company has elevated the priority of security to be on par with its strategic focus areas in energy-efficient performance and Internet connectivity.
With a quote from Intel CEO Paul Otellini
“With the rapid expansion of growth across a vast array of Internet-connected devices, more and more of the elements of our lives have moved online,” said Paul Otellini, Intel president and CEO. “In the past, energy-efficient performance and connectivity have defined computing requirements. Looking forward, security will join those as a third pillar of what people demand from all computing experiences.
What Intel has identified is the relationship between Security and Energy-Efficient Performance. How you approach Security can have a big impact on power consumption for a green data center. PUE is discussed to explain power and cooling overhead for IT.
What is the power consumed by security infrastructure? 10%, 20%, 50%
How many systems cannot be consolidated because of security issues?
Security issues contribute to the fiefdoms in data centers.
What is the energy consumption of your security decisions in the data center?
I posted about Security's relationship to being Green back in Apr 2008.
Security is The Opposing Force of Green, demonstration - techniques to remove hard drive data
I was a having a brainstorming session with another smart guy, I don't want to name him, because the idea is too controversial. We were discussing Green Ideas and we stumbled on the issue of Security being un-Green.
Why? Security at its simplest level creates friction in processes to make things more difficult, this takes more energy, effort, and other resources. The enemies of your Green IT efforts will be your Security group as they will not want to compromise their security policies.
Now I am not arguing for no security. It is requirement of any system, but how much security creates an environmental cost which is not sustainable?