What Were IBM’s Key Cloud Acquisitions in 2015?
How IBM's 2015 Acquisitions Advanced Its Strategic Imperatives
IBM’s notable cloud acquisitions and launches in 2015
Previously in the series, we discussed IBM’s (IBM) recent acquisitions including Gravitant, Weather Co’s digital assets, and Clearleap, which are bound to elevate IBM’s capabilities in cloud, big data, and the IoT (Internet of Things) space. Let‘s take a look at some other notable acquisitions that boosted IBM’s position in these spaces in 2015.
In September 2015, IBM announced the acquisition of StrongLoop, which is a provider of software tools for creating and managing application programming interfaces (or APIs) for apps. StrongLoop uses open source and Node.js runtime environments for its software tools. According to IBM, Node.js is one of the fastest-growing frameworks for developers.
The Cleversafe acquisition by IBM in October 2015 was also intended to offer a scalable, cheaper storage option, which is necessary for data-capacity-intensive workloads in various areas such as healthcare, science, insurance, and financial services.
IBM’s Bluemix, a cloud-foundry-based platform launched in 2014, spans areas like big data, Watson, analytics, integration, DevOps, security, and IoT. In October 2015, Bluemix Local was launched. It’s a platform-as-a-service (or PaaS) for its Bluemix cloud app development platform that enables companies to build and run cloud apps behind their internal firewalls.
The StrongLoop acquisition also complemented Bluemix, as developers will now get access to Bluemix Garage, through which they can create, manage, and monetize APIs. According to IBM’s press release, StrongLoop’s acquisition will “help developers connect enterprise applications to mobile, Internet of Things (or IoT) and web applications in the cloud.”
As the chart above shows, IBM’s acquisitions in 2015 of StrongLoop, AlchemyAPI, Blekko, Blue Box, and Compose, complemented the company’s $2 billion acquisition of SoftLayer, which forms the base of its cloud computing business.
Technology players are aggressively pursuing cloud space
Oracle (ORCL) and Salesforce.com (CRM) have also been very active in this space. In 2015, Oracle acquired Maxymiser, which offers an array of cloud-based marketing tools to boost its marketing cloud. Adobe Systems (ADBE) leads the marketing cloud space. On September 2, 2015, Salesforce.com announced the acquisition of AKTA, an application development consulting company. Investors who want exposure to IBM can consider investing in the iShares Core S&P 500 ETF (IVV). IVV has 8.5% exposure to application software and 0.68% exposure to IBM.
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