IBM has announced its plans to acquire Ilog, a maker of business rules software and more, in a transaction valued at $340 million.
IBM officials said upon completion of the deal, IBM will combine its business process management (BPM), business optimization, and service oriented architecture (SOA) technologies with Ilog’s Business Rules Management Systems (BRMS) software. This will enable IBM to help clients deliver critical business information in real-time, allowing them to make better business decisions faster, the company said.
IBM announced its plans on July 28, saying that its acquisition of Ilog will strengthen IBM’s BPM and SOA position by providing customers a full set of rule management tools for complete information and application lifecycle management across a comprehensive platform including IBM’s leading WebSphere application development and management platform.
Moreover, Ilog technology has the potential to add significant capability across IBM’s entire software platform and bolster its existing rules management offerings, IBM officials said. This includes improved rules and business optimization capabilities for Information Management offerings, better visualization for Lotus products, enhanced optimization within Tivoli solutions, and efficient supply chain management assets for planning and scheduling.
In a statement, Pierre Haren, Ilog’s chairman and CEO, said, “We are very excited about this opportunity to join a world leader such as IBM, a long valued partner with shared core values. This combination will allow us to dramatically extend our market reach and realize the full potential of all of our technologies while protecting investments of Ilog’s customers now and into the future.”
Also in a statement, Tom Rosamilia, general manager, IBM WebSphere, said: “Ilog’s software allows businesses to more effectively manage and automate the decision making process, giving companies an opportunity to react with incredible speed and accuracy. IBM has partnered with Ilog for over a decade, and by adding Ilog’s capabilities to IBM’s software portfolio, this is a great combination to provide value to our clients.”