Back in January I noticed a trail which indicated that VMware would be including Likewise authentication software in their next vSphere software.

Well, Likewise have just released a press release confirming the partnership:

Likewise Software to be Included in VMware vSphere™ for Privileged User Access Management

Software Enables VMware vSphere™ Users to Securely Manage Privileged User Access with Microsoft Active Directory within Windows Environments

BELLEVUE, Wash. – March 15, 2010 – Likewise, the leader in delivering integration and authentication software for mixed networks, today announced a technology licensing agreement with VMware, enabling Likewise software to be directly integrated and included with VMware vSphere™.

The integration will enable VMware vSphere users to manage privileged user access with Microsoft Active Directory, providing large enterprises with a scalable means to improve authentication and access control in virtualized environments to help meet IT security audit requirements. Likewise is a member of the VMware Technology Alliance Partner (TAP) program.

“Virtualization platform vendors have realized the need to architect security capabilities into their platforms instead of relying solely on third-party add-on solutions,” said Neil MacDonald, VP and Gartner Fellow. “As enterprises build out their virtual environments, they should include the security capabilities of the virtualization platforms they consider into their evaluation process.”

“Virtualization is changing the landscape of the enterprise data center, creating new opportunities and considerations for our customers,” said Barry Crist, CEO of Likewise. “By directly integrating Likewise into VMware vSphere™, we can help customers leverage their existing investment in their Windows environments while providing additional security for their virtual environments.”

“As customers continue on the journey to cloud computing, they need to leverage existing security infrastructure for their virtualized environments,” said Patrick Lin, vice president, product management, VMware. “To help meet this demand, we plan to leverage Likewise software to seamlessly integrate this capability in large-scale environments running VMware vSphere™, providing a secure way for customers to manage their access controls.”