IBM Buys Business Intelligence Automation Specialist
When it comes to business analytics companies, IBM can't seem to keep its checkbook closed.
In its latest analytics purchase, Big Blue has snapped up Redwood City, Calif.-based software firm Star Analytics. Details about the deal's value are being kept under wraps.
With a firm footing in the realm of analytics apps, IBM hinted in a press statement that it is now turning its attention to streamlining data integration processes for its analytics portfolio. IBM has been on an analytics and business intelligence buying streak over the past few years.
IBM snagged Netezza in 2010 for $1.7 billion. Since then its analytics acquisitions have been piling up, with notable buys including Emptoris, Varicent, DemandTec, Tealeaf and Vivisimo.
Making It Easier to Use Analytics
IBM's goal in acquiring Star Analytics is to make it easier and faster to deploy, configure and ultimately consume business analytics services, on-premise or via the cloud.
According to IBM, “The software removes typical custom coding for specialized sources that is hard to maintain. It also eliminates manual processes that are cumbersome and time consuming.”
Star Analytics specializes in business intelligence process automation and application integration. The company's product slate is anchored by two products, Star Integration Server and Star Command Center.
Star Integration Server pulls data from Oracle Essbase, Hyperion Planning and Hyperion Financial Management, enabling its use in business applications and data warehouses. Star Command Center provides business analytics automation services, including workflow orchestration, lifecycle management, audit and compliance controls, and process automation.
Star Analytics' technology has the potential to help organizations, particularly those using Oracle, take a step closer to discovering untapped business insights that are currently housed in their databases.
“IBM sees an enormous opportunity for our clients to apply Star Analytics to the information they have stored in their financial applications. And to then easily access it within their IBM performance management and business intelligence solutions,” said IBM Business Analytics General Manager Leslie J. Rechan in a company statement.
In a FAQ (PDF) outlining the deal, IBM said customers will enjoy several benefits and operational efficiencies, including the ability to “to easily extract information from their Oracle Hyperion databases without having to write custom extraction logic, saving significant man-hours in labor costs.”
The Star Analytics team and technology will be folded into the IBM Business Analytics division. The companies expect the deal to close during the current quarter.
Pedro Hernandez is a contributing editor at InternetNews.com, the news service of the IT Business Edge Network. Follow him on Twitter @ecoINSITE.
Pedro Hernandez contributes to Enterprise Apps Today, and 11Press, the technology network. He was previously the managing editor of Internet.com, an IT-related website network. He has expertise in Smart Tech, CRM, and Mobile Tech, Helping Banks and Fintechs, Telcos and Automotive OEMs, and Healthcare and Identity Service Providers to Protect Mobile Apps.
