It was difficult to tell whether Art Coviello's tan was from the sun or whether he was just flush with cash. It was the dead of February in San Francisco and there was the leader of RSA Security telling attendees at his company's namesake conference that the standalone security market would be extinct by the end of the decade. "The value of security as a standalone solution is diminishing," he said from the keynote pulpit.

Almost immediately from more than one corner of the vast auditorium hall you could hear snickering: "Easy for you to say, Art, since you've just been acquired."