IBM and Security First announced a joint development agreement aimed at delivering increased performance, security, and high data availability to storage and cloud-based computing customers. The combined cryptographic security solution from IBM and Security First is expected to be available during the first half of 2012.

Under the agreement, IBM and Security First will combine Security First's patented cryptographic data-splitting technology with the highly parallelized hardware acceleration capabilities of IBM's wire speed processor technology. Specifically, Security First's SPxCore, SPxBitFiler, and SPxConnectTM products will be integrated directly onto IBM's wire speed system on a chip.

"The combination of IBM's wire speed processor technology and Security First's cryptographic technology can deliver unparalleled cryptographic performance, throughput, and scalability for advanced security and storage applications at full network fabric line rates," said IBM Fellow, Bijan Davari, vice-president, Next Generation Computing Systems and Technology.

"This joint development project will unleash the full potential of being able to cost effectively support the explosion of data storage and remove barriers to cloud use," said Mark O'Hare, CEO of Security First. "Through our combined technologies, Security First and IBM will deliver scalable data security and high availability directly to public and private sector customers that require the highest levels of secure data transmission and storage in the cloud."