IBM aims to bolster its ‘big data’ play by acquiring federated discovery and navigation software provider Vivisimo, but it won’t reveal the acquisition price.
Privately held Vivisimo is a specialist in capturing data from a variety of sources. IBM hopes bringing the decade-old firm’s expertise in-house will enhance its current efforts to automate data flow into business analytics, as it seeks a slice of a market IDC estimates will be worth $16.9 billion (€12.8 billion) by 2015.
The purchase opens the door to Vivisimo’s 140 customers, which includes Airbus, Proctor & Gamble, and the US Air Force, and also covers 120 Vivisimo employees.
“Navigating big data to uncover the right information is a key challenge for all industries,” notes Arvind Krishna, general manager of information management at IBM.
Vivisimo chief John Kealey says joining IBM enables the firm to match business customer’s demand for a “faster and more accurate way to discover and navigate big data for analysis.”