IBM, long considered a behemoth of the technology industry, has often also been considered on the “outside looking in” for many of the last decades’ web technology developments.
As the company moves to solidify it’s position as a vendor that can provide data computing power, their acquisition of web analytics firm Coremetrics adds a specialized product line that helps close the gap.
This move could be a shot right into the heart of online powerhouse Google and Adobe (which acquired Omniture). Coremetrics focuses their offerings on product analytics for the online commerce market, tracking data to a granular level, such as comparing the average sale for a specific company versus sales for other companies in the same or different sectors. The company also heavily relies on cloud computing strategies to enable more flexibility for it’s customers’ needs. All interesting fields for IBM.
Coremetrics’ prowess in web marketing analytics may allow IBM to gain a foothold in the market where Google and Adobe remain market forces. While the company was considering an IPO, an enticing offer from IBM and last minute deal making solidified the acquisition.
Coremetrics was a dot-com company in the days where venture capital flowed to internet startups in obscene amounts. The startup was able to secure an initial $113 million in support of it’s core business model.
After the dot-bomb years the company was again able to secure a capital infusion of approximately $111 million from new partners.
Much of the appeal of Coremetrics for IBM was not only it’s staying power, but the quality of the company’s existing clients, which include such heavyweights as Office Depot, Bank of America, Holiday Inn and Virgin Atlantic Airways. In addition to larger clients, scores of smaller online sites and retail outlets rely on Coremetrics analytics and metrics to improve their bottom line.
What’s really interesting about this deal is that specific monetary details have not as yet been disclosed. IBM does not see this as the buyout and elimination of a competitor, but an add-on to their own line of product offerings. The core product line of Coremetrics is expected to continue to be developed and enhanced over time.
One of the attractive services that IBM hopes to integrate and offer to it’s existing customers is the ability of Coremetrics to enable companies to collaborate across business silos. Often, within an existing organization, data is segmented and walled off from shared sources, and offering a way to break those barriers is an attractive option for Big Blue.
The company and it’s employees will be integrated with IBM’s existing corporate structure, bringing Coremetrics 2,100 existing customers along for the ride. It’s hoped that by creating a lasting partnership with existing customers, IBM will be able to offer a wider array of services to those same clients.
Overall after the Adobe-Omniture deal another interesting deal in the web analytics market.
