Hitachi has announced a move into the identity management space with the acquisition of security firm M-Tech.

The company revealed the purchase at the RSA conference in San Francisco. Terms were not disclosed.

Canada-based M-Tech will change its name to Hitachi ID Systems. The new company will retain M-Tech's line of identity management software tools, as well as its consulting and support services.

Mitsuo Yamaguchi, vice president and executive officer at Hitachi, told reporters that Hitachi ID Systems may not be immediately integrated into other Hitachi products, but could be used as part of a larger integrated ID service from the company.

The acquisition will not, however, mean the end of M-Tech's business or a wholesale absorption by Hitachi.

Idan Shoham, chief technology officer at M-Tech, told vnunet.com that the deal will lead to the expansion of the company's operations by way of Hitachi's worldwide influence.

"What we are doing is unlike other acquisitions. We are very much focused on growth," he said. "The idea is to take advantage of Hitachi's global reach."

Shoham also believes that Hitachi will be able to use the acquisition to gain a foothold in the US and Canada, where the company has not yet been able to match its success in Japan.

"In Japan, Hitachi is all things to all people," he said. "This is a step to take that to North America."