Tech Mergers & Acquisitions Review

EMC Acquires Bus-Tech Enabling Mainframe Users to Migrate Off Aging Tape-Based Storage

2010-11-10T15:53:00.000-08:00

EMC® has acquired Bedford, Massachusetts-based Bus-Tech®, Inc. Bus-Tech is a privately held provider of VTL (Virtual Tape Library) solutions that utilize open systems disk storage to store and retrieve mainframe tape data. Bus-Tech products enhance EMC solutions for mainframe batch processing, backup and recovery, disaster recovery, and data archiving applications. Bus-Tech now becomes part of the rapidly growing EMC Backup Recovery Systems division, which delivers next-generation, disk-based backup and recovery solutions. The acquisition is not expected to have a material impact to EMC GAAP and non-GAAP EPS for the full 2010 fiscal year.

The opportunity for mainframe users to eliminate tape infrastructure and embrace next-generation disk-based backup solutions is being driven by mainframe virtual tape and data deduplication technologies. Bus-Tech and EMC are technology and market leaders in these respective categories. IDC estimates mainframe tape storage and media revenues will be $2.5 billion between 2010 and 2014, creating a significant market opportunity for disk-based storage in mainframe tape environments. The combination of EMC disk library and EMC deduplication storage systems with Bus-Tech mainframe virtual tape library controllers gives mainframe users a simple, cost-effective way to eliminate complex and aging tape-based systems. This accelerates their batch, backup and disaster recovery processes while providing automation and reliability levels that tape-based systems simply cannot deliver. Frank Slootman, President of EMC’s Backup Recovery Systems division, said, “Mainframe users are not immune to the challenges with tape when it comes to backup and recovery. In a few short years, the application of data deduplication and disk-based storage has literally transformed the backup market. The addition of Bus-Tech will enable us to deliver a suite of next-generation mainframe backup products that are highly differentiated in terms of performance, integration and supportability.”

Quest Software Announces Agreement to Acquire BakBone Software

2010-11-09T12:58:00.000-08:00

Quest Software and BakBone Software Incorporated announced that they have signed a definitive agreement for Quest to acquire BakBone, a leading provider of data protection software with headquarters in San Diego, California. BakBone delivers real-time continuous data protection, deduplication, replication, disk-based and tape backup and recovery. With BakBone, Quest will acquire heterogeneous data protection technologies that complement its portfolio of solutions for virtual, database and application-level data protection including vRanger® Pro; LiteSpeed® for Microsoft SQL Server and Oracle; Recovery Manager for Microsoft Exchange; SharePoint; Active Directory; and SharePlex® for Oracle. Quest expects to pay approximately $55 million, including the payment of certain debt obligations and net of anticipated cash on hand. BakBone shareholders will receive $0.33 per common share and $1.29 per preferred share following the closing of the acquisition.

“Quest continues to innovate by delivering data protection solutions to address one of the key pain points facing every organization – the ever-expanding amount of data being created,” said Doug Garn, CEO and president of Quest Software. “Quest has a long and successful history of acquiring and building out technically strong products and development teams. BakBone meets these criteria. Our respective products are highly complementary, with minimal overlap. The value received from BakBone’s employees, technologies, partners and customers is expected to be a key benefit as we seek to expand our market share in the data protection market by building upon our core portfolio.”

Amazon.com to Acquire Quidsi - owner of Diapers.com and Soap.com

2010-11-08T12:37:00.000-08:00

Amazon.com has reached an agreement to acquire Quidsi, Inc., which operates Diapers.com, an online baby care specialty site, and Soap.com, an online site for everyday essentials. "I'm not sure which is more unpleasant--changing diapers, paying too much for them, or running out of them," said Jeff Bezos, Founder and CEO of Amazon.com. "This acquisition brings together two companies who are committed to providing great prices and fast delivery to parents, making one of the chores of being a parent a little easier and less expensive." "Amazon shares our commitment to the customer," said Marc Lore, Co-Founder, Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of Quidsi. "We are excited to be part of a company that will help us to serve an even larger audience, and we will continue delivering unexpectedly great service that makes life a little easier - that is our mission."

"Amazon is a pioneer," said Vinit Bharara, Co-Founder and Chief Operating Officer of Quidsi. "Amazon is built on a culture of innovation and long-term vision. Quidsi is driven by these same core values, and we look forward to joining forces." Following the acquisition, Quidsi will continue to operate independently under its current leadership team. In addition to Diapers.com and Soap.com, Quidsi recently launched BeautyBar.com, a prestige beauty boutique. Amazon stock is trending higher during the regular trading session today: http://data.cnbc.com/quotes/AMZN

Webroot Acquires Prevx to Transform Delivery of Cloud Security

2010-11-05T12:41:00.000-07:00

Webroot has acquired Prevx, a provider of scalable and effective cloud-based anti-malware solutions. Webroot will integrate Prevx's technology into its cloud security services to deliver the industry's most effective online protection for consumers and businesses.

"Webroot and Prevx share a common vision for revolutionizing what we believe is a market in need of dramatic change," said Dick Williams, CEO at Webroot. "Security vendors have expected customers to buy, install, maintain, and then manage security products that simply cannot keep pace with today's cybercriminals. Prevx is the leader in cloud-based antivirus protection and behavior-based malware detection, which block threats before they can ever reach a PC or corporate network. This technology, combined with Webroot's innovations, customer service and support, will make it easy for consumers to stay protected online wherever they go, and easy for businesses to protect their employees and their networks." Founded in 2001, Derby, England-based Prevx provides products with unparalleled capabilities for protecting home PCs, corporate networks and mobile devices from the latest malware threats, including zero-day exploits, as soon as they're detected. Prevx uses real-time cloud technology to understand when malicious files or processes are attempting to attack, which is faster and more effective than traditional signature-based detection. The company's flagship product, Prevx 3.0, features the world's smallest, fastest, and lightest endpoint security agent which is substantially easier to deploy, and utilizes dramatically less system resources, than traditional large anti-malware engines.

Cbeyond Acquires Cloud Services Vendors MaximumASP and Aretta Communications

2010-11-04T14:55:00.000-07:00

Cbeyond, Inc. has acquired the assets of privately held MaximumASP and its affiliated companies, as well as the outstanding stock of privately held Aretta Communications. MaximumASP provides cloud services such as managed virtual servers and dedicated servers, and Aretta Communications provides cloud services such as cloud PBXs (private branch exchange) and SIP (Session Internet Protocol) trunking. Both companies target small- and medium-sized businesses throughout the U.S.

“The acquisition of MaximumASP and Aretta Communications is an important step forward for Cbeyond’s business,” said Jim Geiger, chief executive officer of Cbeyond. “We believe these acquisitions will provide significant growth opportunities, leverage our existing channels of distribution, and expand our innovative technology and expertise. In addition, we are excited to bring on board a team of talented people and a first class technical platform and data center. We believe that small businesses will be increasingly outsourcing their IT hardware and services to the cloud and that Cbeyond can play a key role in enabling this trend.” The combined transaction value is approximately $40 million, payable in cash, of which approximately $33 million was paid at closing and the balance, up to 17.5 percent of the combined purchase price, will be paid upon achieving certain future milestones. The aggregate fiscal 2010 revenue of the two acquired companies is expected to be approximately $12 million. Cbeyond was advised by The Bank Street Group for the acquisition of MaximumASP.

Dell to Acquire SaaS Integration Vendor Boomi

2010-11-02T12:39:00.000-07:00

Dell has agreed to acquire Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) integration leader Boomi to help businesses reap the full value of cloud computing. Powered by its revolutionary AtomSphere technology, Boomi offers the industry’s only pure SaaS application integration platform that takes the cost and complexity out of integrating applications by allowing easy transfer of data between cloud-based and on-premise applications with no appliances, no software and no coding required. Headquartered in Berwyn, Pa., Boomi’s technology solutions are widely used with the world’s leading cloud-based applications, including Salesforce CRM, as well as marketing, financial, human resources, content management and service-desk management. Working directly with customers and through its growing network of channel providers, Boomi manages millions of transactions a month and has completed tens of thousands of cloud integrations for hundreds of customers globally across a wide spectrum of industries.

Broadcom to acquire Percello Ltd. for femtocell technology

2010-10-26T14:43:00.000-07:00

Broadcom Corporation has signed a definitive agreement to acquire Percello Ltd., a privately-held company that develops system-on-a-chip (SoC) solutions for femtocells. Femtocells are small, low power cellular base stations that extend coverage indoors where signals are weak. Used primarily in residential and enterprise business settings, femtocells communicate with a service provider's network through a broadband connection, allowing users to continue using their mobile devices without losing connectivity. The acquisition of Percello is expected to enable Broadcom to lower overall bill of material cost and accelerate the time to market for best-in-class and energy-efficient femtocell technology.

"Percello's energy-efficient and cost-optimized femtocell architecture augments our portfolio of highly integrated solutions for broadband connectivity and provides significant benefits for our customers and end users," said Greg Fischer, Vice President and General Manager of Broadcom's Broadband Carrier Access line of business. "As wireless data usage continues to expand, this technology is well-positioned to enable wireless carriers to offload both data and voice traffic, while offering subscribers better cell reception in the home and office and accelerating the introduction of new 'converged' mobile broadband services."

"Percello's femtocell technology delivers a simple and cost-effective solution that enables service providers to quickly and easily extend wireless cellular access as well as offering advanced applications and services to their subscribers," said Shlomo Gadot, Chief Executive Officer, Percello. "The combination of Percello's high performance femtocell solutions and Broadcom's broadband portfolio provides significant benefits including greater efficiencies, accelerated time to market and a world-class technology and engineering talent base."

Nokia Siemens Networks to acquire IRIS Telecom for Eastern and Central Asia Coverage

2010-10-16T12:49:00.000-07:00

Nokia Siemens Networks and IRIS Telecom, a telecom and engineering services firm headquartered in Istanbul, Turkey, jointly announced that Nokia Siemens Networks will acquire IRIS Telecom. The acquisition will combine IRIS Telecom’s strong multi-vendor Network Planning and Optimization (NPO) business with Nokia Siemens Networks’ global capabilities, to create a regional leader in telecom services. Subject to customary closing conditions and regulatory approvals, the deal should be completed during the first quarter of 2011. IRIS Telecom was founded in 1999, and since then has built its NPO business and customer base to emerge as the region’s leading vendor. IRIS Telecom has more than 630 employees and its existing customers include Turkcell, Avea and Ucell. The financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.

“3G and mobile broadband are driving the need to manage end-user experience while improving network efficiency,” said Mete Gokdemir, CEO, IRIS Telecom. “While a fair portion of the region’s operators are still managing their networks in-house, we are seeing a growing trend toward outsourcing, given the higher complexities and competence requirements of managing IP networks. In this evolving scenario, Nokia Siemens Networks’ proven business model and the acquired local capabilities of IRIS Telecom will create a winning proposition for operators.”

“Nokia Siemens Networks will use IRIS Telecom’s localized operations and strong position in NPO to improve our own service delivery model in Turkey, Eastern Europe and Central Asia,” said Geert Buijk, regional head of Services, Nokia Siemens Networks. “We aim to deliver unmatched competitive advantages for customers across a region where network data traffic is increasing rapidly as 3G and mobile broadband are starting to take off.”

Broadcom Corporation to Acquire Beceem Communications Inc., a Leader in 4G Wireless

2010-10-14T15:22:00.000-07:00

Broadcom Corporation has signed a definitive agreement to acquire Beceem Communications Inc., a privately-held company that is a leading provider of fourth generation (4G) wireless platform solutions. Beceem has announced the industry's first 4G multimode platform that can support both LTE and WiMAX 4G networks. Supporting peak broadband download speeds of up to 200Mbps, this technology will enable truly mobile broadband connectivity for smartphones, mobile computing, consumer electronics products and wireless gateways. The acquisition of Beceem accelerates Broadcom's time-to-market in 4G by adding a talented team with proven expertise developing and selling these solutions for a broadening ecosystem of equipment providers and operators. When combined with Broadcom's 3G/2G cellular solutions, wireless LAN, Bluetooth, GPS, Ethernet switching and other associated IP, Beceem's 4G technology will enable our combined customers to accelerate the market availability of highly integrated, lower cost 4G wireless broadband devices.

Service providers around the world are rolling out next generation 4G networks to meet the explosive demand for an expanding variety of content and the growing number of wireless connected devices per subscriber designed to access this content. Beceem's solutions address both LTE and WiMAX, the two standards associated with 4G cellular services. According to the Global Semiconductor Alliance, 132 operators in 56 countries are investing in and are expected to deploy LTE, while WiMAX has already been deployed in over 550 networks in 148 countries. These next generation 4G networks will provide a robust mobile broadband experience at home, at work and while on the road for billions of people around the world.

"The combination of Beceem and Broadcom creates a leader in providing multimode wireless connectivity solutions to service providers and equipment manufacturers around the world," said Scott Bibaud, Broadcom's Executive Vice President & General Manager of the Mobile Platforms Group. "Beceem's talented teams of engineers in India and the U.S. have been focused on enabling a 4G ecosystem of operators and equipment manufacturers to drive the deployment of 4G networks. We look forward to adding their innovative technologies to our product portfolio and providing these technologies to our customers."

Qualcomm Innovation Center acquires mobile Internet vendor iSkoot

2010-10-13T14:35:00.000-07:00

Qualcomm Innovation Center, Inc. (QuIC), a wholly owned subsidiary of Qualcomm, has acquired iSkoot Technologies Inc., a newly-formed corporation that has recently received substantially all of the assets of iSkoot, Inc., a San Francisco-based pioneer of providing services at the intersection of mobile and the internet. iSkoot works with leading device manufacturers and U.S. mobile operators to bring popular social networks and new internet services to mobile handsets in an intelligent manner that reduces data bandwidth usage on the network and saves battery life on phones. iSkoot is now a subsidiary of QuIC, Qualcomm’s subsidiary focused on enabling and optimizing open source software with Qualcomm technologies, and will focus on three areas: continued support of its current customers; integrating its offerings with Qualcomm’s products; ,and developing open source data management contributions for mobile devices. iSkoot began in 2005 with the simple premise that internet services would be even better if they worked on the handsets most people use today and over wireless networks most people can access. iSkoot’s Kalaida™ Platform is architected to move data-intensive tasks through iSkoot-managed proxy servers. The proxy servers intelligently transcode and aggregate the traffic such that the actual frequency and size (number of megabytes transmitted) of data transmissions is greatly reduced. By this method, Kalaida brings the power of cloud computing to consumer mobile devices and gives operators the ability to deliver compelling interactive experiences with minimal impact on network and handset performance.

IBM to acquire GRC vendor PSS Systems

2010-10-13T14:27:00.000-07:00

IBM has acquired PSS Systems, a privately held company based in Mountain View, Calif. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. PSS Systems' software helps organizations analyze, automate and implement information governance policies across massive amounts of electronic business information and dispose of that information in an automated way. These capabilities are critical elements to remaining responsive to legal obligations while reducing data storage costs. As information continues to grow at exponential rates, companies across a wide range of industries are looking for ways to reduce the costs of collecting, processing, reviewing and storing information by setting information disposal policies that can meet legal requirements. To improve the management of data and these increasing legal obligations, Chief Legal Officers and CIOs are investing in software to automate and implement routine enforcement of information governance and retention policies. Needlessly retaining information increases business risk, impedes the ability to respond to legal requests, and puts costs restraints on organizations in every industry.

Maestro Wireless Solutions Acquires Vincotech GPS Receiver Line

2010-10-13T12:32:00.001-07:00

Maestro Wireless Solutions, a subsidiary of the Fargo Telecom Group based in Hong Kong, will acquire the GPS Receiver assets of Vincotech. This adds further GPS modules to the Maestro Wireless Solutions product family, including the recently launched SiRF Star IV A2100 GPS receiver module. In today’s fast-paced M2M world, confidence in technology is paramount and reducing time-to-market poses a real challenge. To serve customers speedily with superior products, Maestro Wireless Solutions is continuously expanding its technological expertise and adding the right products to its portfolio. Experienced and knowledgeable people complement the end-to-end service chain, achieving the best results and satisfying customers.“Acquiring GPS receiver modules is a natural extension of Fargo Telecom’s know-how in wireless design and distribution for M2M applications, and it will expand the Maestro product offering to meet our customers’ needs with key technologies and cost efficiency,” notes Xavier Dupont, Managing Director of the Fargo Telecom Group.

“Maestro Wireless Solutions has long worked with customers and partners on Asset Tracking platforms and location-based products, and GPS technology is core to our business. We will now be contacting all existing Vincotech customers to assure them of our continuing support, and working with them to ensure an orderly transfer of supply,” says Olivier Bernard, VP Business Development at Maestro Wireless Solutions.

IBM Completes Acquisition of Cloud-Based Software Firm Unica Corporation

2010-10-06T13:39:00.000-07:00

IBM is acquiring enterprise and cloud-based marketing software solutions that help businesses streamline and automate marketing processes, and understand and predict customer preferences. Through both the Unica and Coremetrics acquisitions, IBM will enable its clients to develop more relevant and targeted communications while minimizing marketing expenditures. In today's highly interconnected global business environment, customer insight is a top priority for organizations in all industries. Among the highest performing companies globally, 95 percent say that getting closer to the customer is key to achieving their business goals, according to a recent IBM study of 1,500 CEOs. In order to deliver on this priority, businesses must gain a deeper understanding of customer behaviors and preferences, which they can then use to create more effective and relevant marketing communications and customer experiences.

Unica has helped more than 1,500 organizations around the world to better analyze customer preferences and trends, predict customer buying needs and execute and measure relevant cross-channel marketing campaigns. Among Unica's client roster are industry leaders such as Best Buy, eBay, ING, InterContinental Hotels Group, Monster, and US Cellular. "The market has been responding very favorably since IBM announced its intent to acquire Unica in August," said Yuchun Lee, CEO of Unica. "Over the past year, Unica added nearly 450 customers, including many industry leaders like Air France, Autodesk, Hilton Hotels, O2, Qualcomm, and United Airlines."

AVIcode Acquired by Microsoft

2010-10-06T13:21:00.000-07:00

AVIcode, Inc. has been acquired by Microsoft. Both AVIcode and Microsoft share a common vision about the evolution of application performance management and monitoring and the ever- growing need for organizations to gain 360-degree visibility into both application behavior and user experience. As applications continue to leverage Web 2.0 technologies like Silverlight and become ever-more distributed, and as the user audience for these applications also becomes more distributed, multiple points of failure are introduced into the application environment. Discovering, diagnosing and triaging failures at the moment they occur is challenging at best, painfully time-consuming and resource intensive at worst.

With AVIcode’s technology, thousands of users worldwide have dramatically reduced the time required to diagnose and resolve application problems. AVIcode’s real-time detection, alerting and root cause diagnosis capabilities – from both the server and end user perspective – are unmatched, and when paired with a systems management solution like Microsoft System Center Operations Manager, deliver unsurpassed visibility into the entire application environment, from the end user, across application tiers, and back. As a wholly-owned subsidiary of Microsoft, AVIcode will continue to support our worldwide base of users. AVIcode will fulfill its commitments to these customers and assist them in the transition to Microsoft’s systems and processes. Moving forward, our customers and the larger application performance management (APM) market will benefit greatly from the strength of the pairing of Operations Manager with AVIcode’s technology. Critical datacenter applications and services will be more reliable and more available than ever before, driving business success and user satisfaction.

ManTech to Acquire QinetiQ Security and Intelligence Solutions Unit

2010-09-30T13:05:00.000-07:00

ManTech International Corporation has signed a definitive agreement to acquire the assets of QinetiQ North America’s Security and Intelligence Solutions (S&IS) business for $60 million in cash. ManTech will fund the acquisition from cash on hand. The transaction is subject to certain closing conditions, is expected to be completed shortly and be accretive to ManTech's earnings per share in 2011.

"This acquisition is consistent with ManTech’s long-term strategy to continue extending our presence in the defense and intelligence markets," said ManTech Chairman and Chief Executive Officer George J. Pedersen. "The addition of S&IS’s market-leading capabilities positions ManTech as a major integrated security provider, allowing us to offer comprehensive solutions for the full range of security threats – from physical through cyber. We see a solid pipeline of opportunities to provide full-scope security services to new and current ManTech customers.”Headquartered in Fairfax, Va., with a major presence in Huntsville, Ala., S&IS provides integrated security solutions to the Department of Defense and the intelligence community. S&IS generates solid operating margins and expects to produce approximately $60 million in revenue in 2010. S&IS recently won a prime position on the Missile Defense Agency Engineering and Support Services (MiDAESS) contract (Functional Group 6), a five-year indefinite delivery/indefinite quantity contract with a ceiling of $365 million. The S&IS business will be integrated within ManTech's Mission, Cyber and Technology Solutions group, led by L. William Varner.

AOL Acquires Social Software Start-Up Thing Labs, Inc.

2010-09-28T15:58:00.000-07:00

AOL Inc. said it has acquired Thing Labs, Inc., whose Brizzly family of web-based social software makes it easy and fun for users to create, share, explore and enjoy content. The Brizzly team will play a key role in helping AOL provide consumers with the best possible venues to discover and share content with each other. Over time, AOL expects to integrate aspects of the Brizzly service into its popular Lifestream product, its social aggregator and publisher, and AIM, AOL's flagship messaging platform. The Brizzly team will join AOL's Consumer Applications Group, where Thing Labs Founder and Chief Executive Officer Jason Shellen and Christopher Wetherell, Vice President of Product and Engineering, will lead the AIM product suite, including Lifestream.
"AOL is a different company than it was even a year ago. We have to fundamentally change the way we think about the consumer experience and the team at Thing Labs has a vision and a track record of success that we think will help truly transform the messaging space," said Brad Garlinghouse, President of AOL's Consumer Applications Group. "The team represents a great combination of vision, product knowledge and experience building innovative social products and we believe their contribution will further complement the exciting work that the Lifestream and AIM teams at AOL are doing."
Founded in June 2008 and based in San Francisco, CA, Thing Labs creates web-based software that encourages and inspires users to share great content. Its applications include Brizzly, which allows users to view and post updates to Twitter and Facebook; Brizzly Picnic, a group chat site; Brizzly Guide, a site dedicated to explaining social media trending topics in real time, and Brizzly for iPhone. Prior to founding Thing Labs, Shellen and Wetherell were instrumental in creating Google Reader, which allows users to aggregate their most important content.

IBM to Seeks to Optimize Cloud Servers with Acquisition of BLADE Network Technologies

2010-09-27T15:35:00.000-07:00

IBM has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire BLADE Network Technologies (BLADE), a privately held company based in Santa Clara, CA. BLADE specializes in software and devices that route data and transactions to and from servers. The acquisition is anticipated to close in the fourth quarter of 2010, subject to the satisfaction of customary closing conditions and applicable regulatory reviews. Financial terms were not disclosed. BLADE provides blade server and top-of-rack switches as well as software to virtualize and manage cloud computing and other workloads. Customers include more than half of the companies on the Fortune 500 list across 26 industry verticals, including automotive, telecom services, education, government, healthcare, defense and finance. IBM and BLADE have worked together since 2002, resulting in thousands of joint clients. In fact, over 50 percent of IBM System x BladeCenters currently attach to or use BLADE products.

The BLADE acquisition builds on the industry-leading capabilities and technologies IBM is applying to its systems, which are optimized to help clients manage a range of new, more demanding workloads. This year, IBM introduced a full line-up of new, workload-optimized systems that incorporate innovation at each level -- from microprocessors and firmware software to middleware and hardware. With BLADE, IBM can drive innovation at the systems networking level to enable clients to speed the delivery of key information from system to system -- for workloads such as analytics and cloud computing -- while also reducing data center costs.

Cisco Completes Acquisition of Wireless Smart Grid App Vendor Arch Rock

2010-09-20T16:16:00.000-07:00

Cisco said it has completed its acquisition of privately held Arch Rock Corporation, a pioneer in Internet Protocol-based wireless network technology for smart-grid applications. Based in San Francisco, Arch Rock will accelerate Cisco's ability to facilitate the utility industry's transition to an open and interoperable smart grid by enabling Cisco to offer a comprehensive and highly secure advanced metering infrastructure solution that is fully IP and open-standards based. Arch Rock brings to Cisco a proven team that has been a leader in the research and development of wireless networking for smart-grid applications. With the close of the acquisition, the Arch Rock team becomes part of Cisco's industry-leading Smart Grid business unit.

Accuvant Acquires Cyber Security Vendor Ciphent

2010-09-20T15:47:00.000-07:00

Sverica International announced that Accuvant, a Sverica portfolio company, has acquired Ciphent, a provider of world-class cyber security solutions headquartered near Baltimore, Maryland. Accuvant is a research-driven information security partner delivering alignment, clarity and confidence to enterprise clients. Frank Young, Managing Director at Sverica International, and Accuvant board member commented: “We are pleased to have supported Accuvant’s executive team in completing this transaction which will add highly complementary service offerings as well as exposure to federal and other customers to Accuvant’s existing practice. We look forward to continuing to support the combined company with strategic and analytical assistance.”With the acquisition, Accuvant gains several strategic, complementary service offerings that significantly enhance its ability to meet the information security needs of its enterprise customers while increasing exposure to federal clients and mid-market accounts. Added to Accuvant’s three current practice areas of information security research and assessment, risk and compliance management, and technology solutions, are Ciphent’s offerings in secure software development, managed services, training and support. The addition of Ciphent expands Accuvant’s presence to the mid-Atlantic United States, as well as to Europe and the Asia Pacific region. The combined company employs more than 300 personnel worldwide and is on target to exceed $250 million in revenue for 2010.

“We are delighted about this acquisition because of the wide range of innovative solutions Ciphent brings to the table,” said Scott Walker, co-founder and vice president of strategic planning for Accuvant. “Our clients and partners will benefit from the combined Accuvant and Ciphent teams’ expanded offerings and steadfast focus on information security. This transaction results in the largest security organization of its kind, a team of passionate experts who are committed to providing solutions tailored to their clients’ security needs.”

Motorola acquires location-based software vendor Aloqa GmbH

2010-09-16T16:00:00.000-07:00

Motorola, Inc. has acquired Aloqa GmbH, a privately-held, leading developer of location-based software and technologies that are designed to enable the discovery of relevant web content by mobile smartphone users. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed. Aloqa has joined Motorola Mobility, which is comprised of Motorola’s Mobile Devices and Home businesses. Motorola Mobility is expected to be spun off from Motorola, Inc. in the first quarter of 2011. Aloqa’s technologies and services utilize the user’s context (location, identity and social relationships) to proactively inform them of places, events, bargains and other opportunities of which they may choose to take advantage. For example, if Aloqa’s software recognizes the user is in a certain region, it will offer him the top events of the day or special offers of leading discounters in the vicinity. Aloqa distributes its product as a mobile application for smartphone platforms, including Android, and more than one million users have already downloaded its software.

Aloqa will further enhance Motorola’s MOTOBLURTM, which delivers customized content to mobile device homescreens and allows users to access Facebook™, MySpace and Twitter updates -- along with emails, news and favorite apps and widgets -- all in one place. MOTOBLURTM will integrate Aloqa’s open, location-triggered mobile push platform to connect users and publishers of location-aware content in real-time. “Aloqa is an exciting addition to Motorola Mobility as its specialized engineering talent and location-tracking technology will significantly accelerate the release of our context-aware mobile services platform,” said Christy Wyatt, corporate vice president of software and services product management for Motorola Mobility. “Aloqa’s core technologies, user database, and specialized skills are a strong fit with our planned server-side context delivery architecture and will further enhance Motorola’s MOTOBLURTM capabilities. We welcome Aloqa’s highly skilled personnel to the Motorola Mobility team.”

IBM to Acquire Business Analytics Vendor OpenPages

2010-09-15T16:44:00.000-07:00

IBM announced a definitive agreement to acquire OpenPages, a privately-held company based in Waltham, MA. OpenPages provides software that helps companies more easily identify and manage risk and compliance activities across the enterprise through a single management system. Financial terms were not disclosed. With growing volumes of data, disconnected systems, constantly changing regulatory compliance challenges and a dynamic business climate, gaining a complete view of an organization's risk exposure is increasing in complexity.

Today, managing risk is a top priority for businesses in all industries including finance, insurance, retail, healthcare and energy and utilities. A recent IBM study of 1900 global CFOs and senior finance leaders revealed that risk management has risen in priority by 93 percent since 2005. The survey also noted that two out of three companies had encountered material risk events within the past three years. The acquisition of OpenPages expands IBM's business analytics capabilities to support compliance and risk management processes. OpenPages software allows businesses to develop a comprehensive compliance and risk management strategy across a variety of domains including operational risk, financial controls management, IT risk, compliance and internal audits. The result is an aggregated, enterprise-wide picture of all exposures, helping CFOs and CIOs understand how these risks can impact the organization's future performance.

HP and ArcSight announce acquisition - continued consolidation is the vast security sector

2010-09-13T14:06:00.000-07:00

HP's voracious acquisition appetite continues despite the absence of a permanent CEO. Today HP announced plans to acquire security vendor ArcSight. Here is an excerpt from the joint press release: HP and ArcSight announced that they have signed a definitive agreement for HP to acquire ArcSight, a leading security and compliance management company, for $43.50 per share, or an enterprise value of $1.5 billion. The combination of HP and ArcSight will improve security, reduce risk and facilitate compliance at a lower cost for customers. ArcSight’s superior technology is highly complementary to HP’s existing security portfolio of hardware, software and services. Today’s successful enterprises must provide their employees, partners and customers with more access to applications, services and information.

“From a security perspective, the perimeter of today’s enterprise is porous, putting enormous pressure on clients’ risk and compliance systems,” said Bill Veghte, executive vice president, Software and Solutions, HP. “The combination of HP and ArcSight will provide clients with the ability to fortify their applications, proactively monitor events and respond to threats.”

“HP’s acquisition of ArcSight will enable the creation of a new type of security solution, one that serves the modern enterprise,” said Tom Reilly, president and chief executive officer, ArcSight. “By combining ArcSight’s Enterprise Threat and Risk Management Platform with HP’s breadth of application development and operations management solutions, HP will be able to offer an integrated security platform that delivers broader visibility, deeper context and faster remediation of enterprise-wide security and risk-related events. In a world where perimeter security is no longer enough, businesses need this holistic approach to securing their networks, applications and sensitive data.” Track HPQ shares via CNBC: http://data.cnbc.com/quotes/hpq

AT&T Completes Divestiture of Japan Domestic Network Operations to Internet Initiative Japan

2010-09-03T17:36:00.000-07:00

AT&T today announced that it has completed the sale of its domestic Japanese outsourcing services operations to Internet Initiative Japan Inc.. The companies originally announced the transaction in June 2010. As part of the sale, AT&T will transfer approximately 1,600 domestic Japanese business customers and approximately 245 employees who support those customers to IIJ. “Japan is an important market for AT&T, and we are focused on providing a world-class level of service to our multinational customers with a presence there,” said Bernard Yee, vice president AT&T Asia Pacific.AT&T remains committed to serving multinational corporations (MNCs) with operations in Japan and offers a robust portfolio of services including managed global connectivity, hosting, mobile enterprise applications, cloud computing, application management, security, Telepresence and unified communications. AT&T’s strong presence in Japan includes substantial operations and employees to support the domestic Japanese AT&T Global Network infrastructure, which includes four global network service nodes, remote access infrastructure for corporate clients, an Internet Data Centre and significant international subsea cable capacity.

AT&T intends to continue to sell domestic telecommunication services, including IIJ products, to the MNCs it serves that have operations in Japan. And IIJ intends to purchase global connectivity services from AT&T to support its Japan-based customers’ global communications needs. The sale price is approximately ¥9.2 billion, or approximately US$109 million, based on the exchange rate on August 31, 2010. AT&T has also exercised a call option on NTT’s 15-percent stake in AT&T Japan.

RadioTime Acquires TuneIn Internet Radio iPhone App

2010-09-03T16:58:00.000-07:00

RadioTime, Inc. today announced that it has acquired the TuneInInternet radio iPhone application, the best-selling and highest rated Internet radio application for the iPhone and iTouch. RadioTime has also hired the man who created the TuneIn application to oversee the development of RadioTime’s iPhone and future iPad applications for consumer and powered-by customers. TuneIn was the first Internet radio application to turn the iPhone or iTouch into a DVR for radio. Users can pause, rewind and record live radio programs, and search for music and programs by the names of artists or on-air personalities, specific songs, station call letters and genre. Other features include using the iPhone’s GPS or WiFi capabilities to automatically detect local stations no matter where the user travels.In less than a year, more than 700,000 iPhone and iTouch owners have purchased the $1.99 TuneIn app. TuneIn features the RadioTime directory of AM/FM and online-only radio stations airing in 140 countries and broadcasting in 55 different languages.

“I have realized the dream many independent apps developers share of having my app become a best-seller on iTunes, which is very difficult considering there are more than 225,000 apps and counting available for the iPhone, iPad and iTouch,” said Ben Alexander, who developed the TuneIn app. “Partnering with RadioTime and being able to leverage its technology provided me with a significant advantage over the ever-growing number of Internet radio and streaming music apps, and I’m excited about the opportunity to join the company and work on bringing Internet radio to a wide variety of mobile, automotive and connected in-home media players, televisions and sound systems.”

3PAR Bidding War Over - HP Takes the Prize

2010-09-02T16:52:00.000-07:00

Here is an excerpt from today's joint HP-3PAR press release: HP and 3PAR is a winning combination that will accelerate HP’s Converged Infrastructure strategy and bolster our ability to provide customers with the industry’s highest levels of performance, efficiency and reliability,” said Dave Donatelli, executive vice president and general manager, Enterprise Servers, Storage and Networking, HP. “We intend to invest in 3PAR’s technology to create long-term value for our stakeholders.”

“As part of HP, 3PAR’s agile, efficient storage solutions will truly thrive, particularly given HP’s ability to accelerate investment in our products and reach new customers around the world,” said David Scott, president and chief executive officer, 3PAR. “3PAR has built a reputation for delivering enterprises and cloud computing service providers the ability to do more with less. HP’s global reach, strong routes to market and our shared culture of innovation will allow even more organizations to experience the transformative value of 3PAR’s technology.”

Did HP overpay for 3PAR? Probably. Nonetheless, this acquisition gives HP a strong presence in the high growth virtual storage market, it resonates well with HP's enterprise customers and sends a strong signal that HP will be a courageous IT player regardless of its CEO troubles. Track the HPQ stock via CNBC: http://data.cnbc.com/quotes/hpq