Layer 7 Technologies announced a go-to-market partnership with Novell to secure programmatic Web services, leveraging Novell eDirectory and Novell Access Manager identity solutions.

Under the terms of the agreement Layer 7 will become a preferred partner joining Novell's identity and security management partner ecosystem to help address Web services security. End-users will benefit from an integrated best of breed approach to Web and Web services security.

“As more enterprises and commercial Web sites expose their business systems through programmatic APIs, new security will be required that can protect the service interfaces and message level communication across disparate systems,” said Nick Nikols, Vice President of Product Management, Identity and Security at Novell. “Being able to leverage a shared identity infrastructure ensures that customers can secure their next generation Web services in a rigorous and compliant way.”

“Identity is at the heart of strong Web services security and governance,” said Dimitri Sirota, Vice President Marketing and Alliances, Layer 7. “Layer 7 and Novell customers can now benefit from an integrated framework for Web and Web services security.”