International Business Machines (IBM -8.25%) announced Monday that it will acquire the assets of Spanugo. Based in Santa Clara, Calfornia, Spanugo gives clients the capability to run workloads in the cloud, delivering both compliance and risk management while ensuring continuous cybersecurity.
This is IBM's first acquisition since CEO Arvind Krishna, the former head of IBM's cloud and cognitive services division, took the top job in April. IBM declined to disclose the terms of the agreement.
This deal should boost IBM's cloud capabilities. In a competitive market where the likes of Amazon and Microsoft have accumulated a significant market share, IBM continues to carve its niche in the cloud space. To stand out from competitors, IBM has targeted enterprise clients, especially those who not only deal with a burdensome regulatory environment but also want to benefit from cloud technology.
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According to Howard Boville, senior VP of Cloud at IBM, "IBM is committed to building the industry's most secure and open public cloud for business. With the acquisition of Spanugo, we have taken another major step in advancing IBM's differentiated capabilities in security and compliance for our enterprise clients, including those in highly regulated industries."
Boville also stated that adding Spanugo's capabilities to the financial services public cloud would help to provide proof of ongoing compliance. This is critical, as last year Bank of America and IBM announced the first-ever public cloud designed for financial services.
The company also expects that, with the Spanugo assets added, it can hasten the availability of its security control center. This should help clients monitor compliance and manage compliance controls.
The cloud, which represents just over 30% of IBM's revenue, has become the fastest-growing part of IBM's business.
