IBM (IBM +0.98%) announced today it will acquire Cloudant, a Boston-based database-as-a-service (DBaaS) provider that allows mobile and Web applications to be "easily and quickly" created by developers.
While the financial terms of the agreement were not disclosed, IBM did note that a number of clients across different industries already use the services Cloudant provides, including corporations in gaming, financial services, mobile-device manufacturers, online learning, retail, and health care. The press release did not say how many clients. Cloudant was founded in 2008.
"IBM is leading the charge in helping its clients take advantage of big data, cloud and mobile," said Sean Poulley, IBM's databases and data warehousing vice president, in the company press release. "Cloudant sits squarely at the nexus of these three key transformational areas and enables clients to rapidly deliver an entirely new level of innovative, engaging and data-rich apps to the marketplace."
Highlighting both the growing challenges and demands of creating mobile and Web apps, IBM noted that Cloudant will complement its existing big data and analytics solutions as it extends beyond traditional data management services.
IBM noted the acquisition will allow for developers to no longer focus on database management, and also give database administrators freedom to focus on tasks apart from day-to-day administration, and instead those that provide higher value to their companies. In addition, it will also allow IBM to have a greater cloud solutions portfolio.
