IBM buys cloud brokerage software developer Gravitant
IBM on Tuesday said it has acquired Gravitant, an Austin, Texas-based developer of hybrid cloud brokerage software. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.
IBM plans to integrate Gravitant's software capabilities into the IBM Global Technology Services unit, in an effort to boost its hybrid cloud and enterprise services.
Gravitant's technology allows businesses to plan, buy and manage -- or "broker" -- software and computing services from multiple suppliers across hybrid clouds.
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The main appeal with this type of software and service brokering is that it allows mixed environments of private and public clouds to be integrated and digitally managed as one.
IBM was likely attracted to Gravitant's single management console, which it could pitch to customers as a way to improve performance and efficiency. IBM already has plans to integrate Gravitant's capabilities into the Software-as-a-Service offerings of IBM Cloud.
"The reality of enterprise IT is that it is many clouds with many characteristics, whether they be economic, capacity or security," said Martin Jetter, SVP of Global Technology Services for IBM, in a statement. "Gravitant provides an innovative approach to add choice and simplicity to how enterprises can now manage their environments. It will be a key component as we broaden our hybrid cloud services."
The deal caps off an already busy buying year for IBM. Last week Big Blue bought the B2B data business and associated properties from The Weather Company in a deal designed to strengthen IBM's Internet of things efforts.
Terms of the deal weren't disclosed, but the Wall Street Journal reported the deal was valued at more than $2 billion.
Early in October, IBM snapped up Cleversafe, a provider of hybrid or object-based storage. IBM said it planned to integrate Chicago-based Cleversafe into its cloud business unit in a bid to bolster its overall hybrid cloud storage portfolio.
In late September, the computing giant bought Meteorix, and just a few weeks before that snapped up software startup StrongLoop in an aim to strengthen its Node.js expertise.
A more substantial purchase came in August, when IBM acquired Merge Healthcare for $1 billion in an effort to give its Watson cognitive computing system the ability to see medical images.
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