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TIBCO Software Inc., best known for its namesake bus model integration software, is broadening its horizons. The company on Thursday announced the acquisition of U.K.-based Staffware plc for the equivalent of $217 million.
Staffware makes BPM [business process management] and workflow software.
The acquisition will build on TIBCOs capabilities for integrating business processes—and broaden the companys potential customer base to include IT as well as business users, officials said.
The deal also will add depth to TIBCOs increasingly vertical focus. More than half of Staffwares customers are banks that use its software to automate loan approvals and mortgage applications, according to Hoovers Online, a business research site. Staffwares remaining customers are in the insurance, telecommunications and government sectors.
Most importantly, the acquisition will expand TIBCOs reach beyond application integration to include business process management.
“We believe that the combined companies can accelerate market momentum relative to market peers and set a new standard for what is needed to effectively compete in the BPM market,” Vivek Rinadive, chairman and CEO of TIBCO, said in a statement. “We believe business processes are rapidly becoming the most valuable corporate asset.”
The acquisition also will bring TIBCO a bigger presence in Europe and Asia Pacific. For Staffware, the acquisition will enable greater scale in U.S. markets, a feat the company has not been able to accomplish.
TIBCO officials said development and support for Staffwares iProcess software will continue, as will work around TIBCOs BusinessWorks Workflow software.