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Identity management is one of the next big battlegrounds in security, and FishNet Security is buying into the market in a big way through the acquisition of specialist Logic Trends.

FishNet, arguably the largest security integrator in North America, will gain an extensive portfolio of identity management talent, solutions and clients through the deal. The combined company will operate 30 offices across the country and will have projected 2012 revenues in excess of $500 million.

“Combining Logic Trends with FishNet Security enhances our own identity and access capabilities as well as gives us a presence in the fast-growing healthcare solutions space,” said CEO Gary Fish, in a statement. “The combination will expand our service offerings, strengthen our position in growing markets and enable us to further bolster our strong management team.”

Logic Trends is more than just an identity management reseller; it’s a specialist in every sense of the word. It’s partnered with leading enterprise identity management vendors including CA Technologies, BMC Software and Courion. It has relationships with major identity management and access control systems vendors, including Oracle, RSA and Microsoft. And it developed its own proprietary software, tools and methodologies.

FishNet has identity management solutions in its portfolio – Logic Trends will fill gaps in expertise, methodology and specializations. The combination of the two portfolios will create a well-rounded identity management within the framework of FishNet’s existing network security and risk management practices.

While the move is significant for bolstering FishNet’s leadership among security solution providers and integrators and propelling its growth, it also speaks to the growing importance and opportunity in identity management as a solutions offering.

True identity management, authentication and access control have been the purview of the enterprise for much of the last two decades. While solutions exist for small businesses and the midmarket, they pale in comparison to the capabilities of enterprise solutions because identity management is complicated and expensive.

A move is afoot to broaden identity management to the cloud, mobility and midmarket. The reason: Identity management is the currency that will make the ubiquity of IT possible. If identities can be attached to people and assets regardless of their physical location, people and companies can more freely and securely access IT resources.

According to Gartner, the identity and access management market will grow to nearly $12 billion annually by 2013. That’s nearly double the total firewall market. The market will only continue to grow as mobile solutions are added to the mix.

Already several vendors are working to push identity management capabilities into the hands of midmarket solution providers. CA, for instance, is rolling out more solutions that manage credentials in third-party clouds and give solution providers the ability to offer IDM as a service. Novell, too, has cloud identity management solutions.

The FishNet acquisition of Logic Trends is a reflection of existing and growing opportunities in identity management. Eventually, every solution provider will have to consider what their IDM strategy will be.