IBM to buy Ascential for $1.1B

Joris Evers   Today’s Top Stories    or  Other Software Stories  

Why SaaS is Vital to Email and Web Security Reduce Cost and Increase Efficiency with Grid Computing Oracle Database 11g Internet Seminar Web Security SaaS: The Next Generation of Web Security Delivering on the Promise of ELearning Rapid E-Learning: Maturing Technology Brings Balance and Possibilities Sign up to receive Security Resource Alerts

March 14, 2005 (IDG News Service) -- IBM has agreed to buy data integration software maker Ascential Software Corp. for about $1.1 billion in cash, the companies announced today.
Ascential's products are used to build data warehouses, feed data into business intelligence systems and consolidate enterprise applications, among other things. If approved, the acquisition will strengthen IBM's information integration offerings, the company said.
The acquisition is subject to approval from Ascential's shareholders and regulators, as well as other customary closing conditions. IBM expects to complete the purchase in the second quarter of 2005, the companies said.
After the acquisition, Ascential, in Westboro, Mass., will become a business unit within IBM's Information Management software division. Ascential's products will become part of IBM's software offerings sold through IBM's and Ascential's sales channels and partners.
Data integration is a key part of IBM's software strategy. The Ascential Enterprise Integration Suite complements IBM's WebSphere Information Integrator products, according to IBM. Ascential has more than 3,000 customers worldwide. IBM and Ascential already have more than 550 joint customers, the companies said.
For example, companies will be able to use Ascential technology to populate and maintain a data warehouse for strategic analysis, while tapping IBM's WebSphere integration products to correlate real-time events to information in the data warehouse, said Janet Perna, general manager of IBM's Information Management software division. In addition, to compile a unified view of customer information from disparate data sources, Ascential software can create a consolidated master file for the most commonly used information, while WebSphere can add unstructured data to the file, she said.
The acquisition should have no effect on Ascential customers, said Chris Rubsamen, an IBM spokesman. All customer contracts will be honored, and the approximately 1,000 Ascential employees will be offered jobs in similar roles at IBM, he said.

There is very little overlap in the IBM and Ascential products, said Ascential President Peter Fiore in a conference call with financial analysts. IBM's integration products allow users to access information in real time but without actually collecting the data in one physical location. Ascential's products move data into a repository, he said.

"What the combination gives us is a broad capability to bring those technologies together and to solve the kind of problems where customers want to be able to combine and do analysis based on historical information but also to have access to real-time information from transactional systems," Fiore said.

Ascential is the former Informix Business Solutions. After IBM snapped up Informix Corp.'s database business for $1 billion in April 2001, Informix Business Solutions changed its name to Ascential.

IBM's acquisition of Ascential is a classic example of consolidation, said Ian Wesley, a research director at Ovum Ltd. in London. "IBM has clearly been building up this side of its business for some time, but they had a big hole in their product portfolio that could be filled by buying Ascential. They will now have a very strong offering."

Spending on data integration has been growing steadily. It reached $9.3 billion in 2003 and is estimated to hit $13.6 billion in 2008, according to a July study by market research company IDC.
Key rivals to Ascential and IBM are Informatica Corp., SAS Institute Inc. and Oracle Corp.
Ascential is publicly held. IBM has agreed to buy the company for $18.50 cash per share, a premium of 17.8% over Ascential's Friday closing price of $15.70 on the Nasdaq Stock Exchange.

Computerworld's Heather Havenstein contributed to this report.

Reprinted with permission from

For more news from IDG visit IDG.net
Story copyright 2006 International Data Group. All rights reserved.

Print this Story

Send Us Feedback

E-mail this Story

Digg this Story

Slashdot this Story

"Mozilla's successful attempt to set a world record for downloads of a single program, Firefox 3 was dumb...." Read more... "Apple yesterday dropped the price of the 64Gb MacBook Air by a whopping $500 ($400 less for the SSD and..." Read more... Read more Software posts or See all Blogs

Microsoft promises four patches next week Google gives away home-cooked Web application security scanner Storm botnet stages Fourth of July attacks More top stories...

Microsoft trumpets security additions in upcoming IE8 Apple cuts price of high-end SSD MacBook Air by $500 Ultrathin showdown: Apple MacBook Air vs. Lenovo ThinkPad X300 vs. Toshiba Portege R500

This old laptop: Revitalizing an aging notebook on the cheap All it takes is a couple hours and about $125 to breathe new life into an old laptop. Here's how. Bill Gates moves on Is Microsoft's Golden Age over? What are Gates' most memorable quotes? Find out in Computerworld's complete coverage of the end of the Bill Gates era at Microsoft. Five things you should never tell your boss There are some things your CIO definitely doesn't want to hear. Also don't miss the flipside, Five things you should always tell your boss. Hands-On: Firefox 3 fixes what's broke and keeps what's right With its latest version, Mozilla's browser continues to raise the bar for what Web browsers should be. Windows Vista A to Z Reviews, analyses, how-tos, visual tours, hot issues and predictions about Microsoft's new OS. More Continuing Coverage After 9/11: Homeland SecurityAsk a Premier 100 IT LeaderBlackBerry Legal BattleData Security BreachesElectronic VotingFirefoxH-1B VisasHP's Boardroom ScandalHandheld DevicesHurricane Katrina AftermathMicrosoft Legal IssuesMicrosoft's VistaOpen SourceRFID TechnologySCO's Linux FightSarbanes-Oxley ActSpamVoice Over IPWi-FiWindows Meta File VulnerabilityWindows XP Service Pack 3 IT Careers 2010 Four years from now, the IT field will be a vastly different place. Will you be ready? More Special Reports Premier 100 IT Leaders 2007 Best in Class2006 Computerworld Horizon Awards2006 Premier 100 IT Leaders2006 Salary Survey2007 Best Places to Work in IT2007 IT Forecast2007 Premier 100 IT Leaders40 Years of ComputerworldASPs, Take TwoBest Places to Work in IT 2003Best Places to Work in IT 2004Best Places to Work in IT 2005Best Places to Work in IT 2006Business Intelligence Home RunsBusiness Intelligence: Smarter BIBusiness Intelligence: The Future of BICRM Goes VerticalCRM: Sober CRMCareer Planning Guide 2005Careers: IT Profession 2010Computerworld Horizon Awards 2005Data Management: Mining for GemsData Management: Taming Data ChaosDevelopment: Hard-Workin' Web SitesDevelopment: New Tools New ChoicesDevelopment: The New World of Application DevelopmentDevelopment: The Web Services TsunamiDevelopment: Web Services HurdlesDisaster Recovery: Preparing for the WorstE-commerce Grows UpE-mail/Groupware: Big DecisionsFaces of Mobile ITForecast 2006Global MobileHardware: Multiple Cores, Multiple ChallengesHardware: On-Demand Un-HypedHardware: The Shape of Things to ComeHorizon Awards: 10 Cool Cutting Edge TechnologiesIT Management: Guide to Managing VendorsIT Management: Navigating Global ITIT Management: Recovery AheadIT Management: The Future of ITIT Management: The Resourceful Project ManagerInnovative Technology Awards 2004Management: Reinventing ITMicrosoft in TransitionMobile/Wireless Leaders and LaggardsMobile/Wireless: The Untethered WorkerMobile/Wireless: Tiny Gadgets, Huge CostsNetwork Management: Taking ControlNetworking: Turbulence Ahead!Networking: VoIP Goes MainstreamOperating Systems: In the Slow LaneOperating Systems: Linux Goes GlobalOperating Systems: Should You Nix Unix?Outsourcing: Offshore Buyer's GuideOutsourcing: Outsourcing DangersPremier 100 IT Leaders 2004 Best in ClassPremier 100 IT Leaders 2005 Best in ClassROI: Do the Math!Salary Survey 2003Salary Survey 2004Salary Survey 2005Security Action PlanSecurity: Compliance HeadachesSecurity: Proactive SecuritySecurity: Risk and RewardSecurity: Tips From Security ProsSouped-up SecurityStorage: Battling ComplexityStorage: Cheap & Secure Data StoresStorage: Stretching Your Storage DollarsStorage: The Lean Storage MachineStorage: The New Rules of StorageStorage: The Ultimate Backup GuideSupply Chain: Missing LinksSupply Chain: RFID Reality CheckThe Business of SecurityWeb 2.0 SecurityWireless: Wireless At Work All Zones Application Performance Zone Business Continuity Zone Data Center Management Zone Enterprise-Class Security Zone The File Data Management Zone Grid Computing on Windows Zone Security Management Zone ITIL Best Practices Zone The SAS Zone Storage Virtualization Zone Business Intelligence and Analytics Zone See your link here

Computerworld Technology Briefing: An open-source path to optimal virtualization Download this Technology Briefing now! (Source: Novell/IBM/Intel) Virtualization is about a lot more than just lowering total cost of ownership. In fact users that have taken an open source path to virtualization have realized the additional, mission-critical benefit of markedly reduced IT complexity, as well as a more flexible infrastructure that is easier to change to meet shifting, often unpredictable business requirements. Download this executive briefing  Advance your BlackBerry(R) solution management know-how this July Advance your BlackBerry(R) solution management know-how this July BlackBerry Technical Seminar, register today! Go to the webcast  Rapid application development, rapid results Download this special report now! (Source: Intersystems) All too many businesses suffer from IT infrastructures that are a hodge-podge of disconnected databases and applications. What's needed is the ability rapidly develop connected applications under a unified service-oriented architecture. InterSystems Ensemble integration environment and Cache database are effective tools in answering this need, delivering a rapid ROI. Download this white paper  White Papers Read up on the latest ideas and technologies from companies that sell hardware, software and services. Deploying Virtualized NetWare on Linux Whitepaper Toward More Flexible, Next-Generation Collaboration Solutions Driving Business Success Through Workgroup Choice and Flexibility View more whitepapers

• Microsoft promises four patches next week
• Google gives away home-cooked Web application security scanner
• Storm botnet stages Fourth of July attacks
• More top stories 

Computerworld Technology Briefing: Meetings @ the Speed of Business For large organizations, Web conferencing gives a major boost to collaboration among far-flung offices. For smaller companies, experts say Web conferencing is no longer a luxury but a necessity for everything from webinars to customer presentations. But the real value lies in saving soft costs and in increases in productivity. Download this briefing

Creating Tiered Storage Architecture This paper shows how Brocade StorageX enables tiers of storage across Windows and NetApp storage to align storage practices with organizational objectives. Download this white paper now!

Best Places to Work in IT Where can you earn top dollar, get the best benefits, the latest IT and more? Find out in our 14th annual survey.