As IT staffs continue to look for ways to stretch their security budgets, vendors are readying new products that combine multiple security functions in a single offering.

Nokia Corp. and Broadcom Corp. next week will introduce products that take discrete capabilities normally found in several different devices or applications and weave them together. Although the companies take different approaches, the goal is the same: to reduce the number of security devices IT staffs have to manage.

Nokia's Internet Communications division this week plans to introduce its Secure Access System, a line of appliances based on the Espoo, Finland, company's software security platform and IPSO hardened operating system. The boxes are designed to provide security functionality that allows remote and mobile users to access corporate networks. The heart of the system is an SSL (Secure Sockets Layer)-based VPN (virtual private network) that provides a connection to all of a user's corporate applications, including e-mail, client/server software and enterprise applications.

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