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Is IBM’s analytics spending spree just getting started?
It’s a safe bet to say Big Blue isn’t done spending big dollars on business analytics companies, as the company’s information management chief is letting the world know that IBM is “just getting started” in the market
By: Rafael Ruffolo
ComputerWorld Canada (27 Oct 2009)
IBM Corp. isn’t finished adding to the US $12 billion worth of investments its made to its business analytics and data management stack, according to Ambuj Goyal, general manager of IBM’s Information Management group.
Speaking to a group of journalists on Tuesday’s IBM Information On Demand 2009 conference in Las Vegas, Goyal said IBM’s business analytics strategy is “just beginning” to get started. And while he expects feverish competition from other major software vendors, Goyal said many of the analysts he’s talked to give IBM the upper hand in this space.
“Analysts are telling me that we’re light years ahead,” he said.
The IBM business analytics chief also reiterated his stance on the market, telling journalists “information-led transformation is bigger than ERP-led transformation.” He then took this statement a step further, adding that “this is bigger than ERP and CRM combined.”
Last year alone, Big Blue spent over US$ 6 billion in acquiring companies for its information management division.
While IBM’s roadmap to integrate Ottawa-based business intelligence firm Cognos has worked out nicely for the company, Goyal deflected questions about IBM’s specific integration plans for newly acquired predictive analytics firm SPSS.
“SPSS already fits in to what we’re doing,” he said, adding that IBM is less focused on integration than it is on innovation.
Goyal continued saying that predictive analytics — which aims to give organizations information they can use to make future business decisions — is only one portion of the company’s “information on demand” stack, estimating that the technology only makes up about 10 per cent of the company’s vast business analytics portfolio.