Software AG snaps up Apama to boost big data analytics
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Enterprise software company Software AG says the planned acquisition of complex-event processing platform Apama from Progress Software will strengthen its hand in big-data analytics.
According to Software AG, the agreement to buy Apama for an undisclosed sum will enable it to combine the platform's ability to correlate and analyse multiple data streams in real time with its own low-latency messaging and in-memory technology for industries that need sub-second response times.
Apama, which has won awards as an algorithmic trading system, is a customisable complex-event processing product that is particularly strong in capital markets with uses in trading, risk and market surveillance, as well as in telecoms, supply chain and logistics.
Apama's complementary technology
Software AG UK director of business architecture Matt Smith said Apama's ability to analyse and make decisions on real-time streamed events complements the way Software AG's Terracotta in-memory processing technology can extract information rapidly from historical data.
"That's the big thing — putting those two things together. It means rather than just making decisions in the moment, looking at what's happening now based on algorithms, I can start to test theories and start to test things against historical performance and start to create trending," he said.
"You can start to talk about decision analytics at that point, rather than just talking about data analytics."
Smith added that Apama will benefit from being part of Software AG, with its philosophy of highly integrated products, which include mobile technology, and its experience in a wide range of markets.
"One of the things that Software AG brings to the table that's different is that it's got not just very complementary technology but it's a much bigger company and it has a very large breadth of vertical experience outside where Apama tended to focus, which was finance," he said.
"Apama is now going to get the opportunity to lift itself from the experience mainly in the finance sector to a much broader of range of engagements."
Apama tech and sales staff to transfer
As part of the deal, Apama technology teams in Cambridge, England, Bedford, US, and Hyderabad, India, will join Software AG, along with global sales staff and the technical teams that support customers in financial services, communications and other markets.
Apama co-founder and Progress Software CTO Dr John Bates will also be joining Software AG once the transaction has been completed.
Software AG says it will maintain the Apama brand because of its high profile in complex-event processing. It will develop Apama's presence in capital markets, risk and surveillance, as well as location and context-aware features for sales and fraud prevention.
Software AG declined to reveal the acquisition price beyond saying: "It is in the low to mid-double digit million euro amount."
Apama, which was founded in 1999 to develop technology created at Cambridge University in the UK, was acquired by Progress Software in April 2005 for $25m.