IBM announced the acquisition of Cast Iron Systems

Today IBM announced a major step in its acquisition efforts […]

May 4, 2010

Today IBM announced a major step in its acquisition efforts by acquiring Cast Iron Systems, a privately held company based in Mountain View, CA, and a leading provider of cloud integration software, appliances and services that help organizations rapidly integrate their cloud-based applications with applications that sit in their data centers.

Cast Iron Systems has thousands of customers that span a wide range of industries such as financial services, media and entertainment retail organizations including the Sports Authority, Time Warner, Westmont University and many others. IBM expects the global cloud computing market to grow at a compounded annual rate of 28 percent from $47 billion in 2008 to $126 billion by 2012.

A key challenge businesses face in successfully adopting cloud delivery models is integrating the disparate systems running in their data centers with new cloud based applications. The acquisition of Cast Iron Systems enhances IBM’s portfolio in cloud computing and business integration software by offering clients a complete platform to integrate cloud applications from leading providers.

Today’s news demonstrates how IBM is expanding its software business around higher value capabilities that help clients run their businesses more effectively. The company’s business process and integration software portfolio, which Cast Iron Systems will join, grew more than 20 percent in the first quarter of 2010. In the past decade, IBM has undergone a significant shift in its business model to focus on higher value, high margin capabilities through both organic and acquisitive growth. IBM’s software business is a key driver in this shift. With its software revenue growing at 11 percent year-to-year in the first quarter, IBM generated $8 billion in software group profits in 2008 up from $2.8 billion in 2000.

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