If you are a current Curam Software customer and would like to find out more how the merger will affect you, please contact us today.

 
 
Improves Delivery of Social Programs to Citizens
 
DUBLIN and ARMONK, N.Y., Dec. 5, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- IBM (NYSE: IBM) has signed a definitive agreement to acquire Curam Software Ltd. to help governments improve the efficiency, effectiveness and accessibility of social programs for smarter cities.   Financial terms were not disclosed.
 
Curam Software is used in more than 80 government agency projects around the world to provide the most appropriate social programs to citizens and their families in a timely manner, deliver services more effectively and continuously monitor progress toward achieving people's social and economic potential.  The software is used by health and human services, workforce services, and social security organizations around the world to deliver welfare, social insurance and both individual and employer based social programs.
 
Curam Software allows cities and governments to provide a single view of benefits and services available across agencies, levels of government and private and not-for-profit organizations.   The Social Industry Platform includes processes to deliver all types of programs and offers the flexibility needed to quickly update them as policy makers react to different economic times.   Curam Software's Platform also allows government and providers to focus on lowering overall program costs by ensuring that the benefits and services provided address core issues and that people become more self-sufficient.
 
Curam, which means "care and protection" in Irish, was founded in 1990 and is based in Dublin, Ireland.  One of the company's investors was Enterprise Ireland, which helps Irish companies achieve global success.
Through its Smarter Cities initiative, IBM helps cities and governments serve citizens better by adopting more intelligent and efficient ways to analyze data, anticipate problems and coordinate resources.   IBM has led more than 2,000 projects to achieve these goals and through its acquisition of Curam Software, IBM expects to extend its leadership in this area.
 
IDC Government Insights estimates the new Smarter Cities information technology market opportunity at $34 billion in 2011, increasing more than 18 percent per year to $57 billion by 2014.
Today's news also builds on IBM's Smarter Cities initiatives in Ireland.  Last year the company opened its first Smarter Cities Technology Center in Dublin at IBM's R&D Lab,  where IBM works with city authorities, universities, small and large businesses to research, develop and commercialize new ways of making city systems more connected, sustainable and intelligent.  With the addition of the Curam Research Institute -- which is working to develop and deploy new business models for managing social programs -- IBM will enhance its ability to help clients increase the social and economic potential of people and their families.
"We are working to help cities and governments at all levels transform the way they interact with citizens while improving efficiency," said Craig Hayman, General Manager of IBM Industry Solutions.  "We all have stories to tell about standing in long lines or making countless phone calls to gain access to government services, but it doesn't have to be that way.  Together with Curam, IBM can transform the way citizens do business with government in a way that benefits everyone."
Since 1999, IBM and Curam have collaborated on federal, state, local, and provincial-level social program solutions around the world.  More than 90 percent of Curam's clients use IBM WebSphere middleware and nearly 70 percent of its clients use IBM hardware.  Curam's software is certified for use with the IBM Government Industry Framework and has been part of IBM Global Business Services' Integrated Case Management solution since 2001.  
"After 13 years of experience working with IBM, we know our companies are an excellent fit," said John Hearne, CEO, Curam Software.  "Many of our clients already use IBM technologies and services, and they will benefit from working with Curam and IBM as one.  Through IBM's global reach, we can grow our client base by bringing the benefits of Curam's Social Industry Platform to citizens around the world."
 
IBM's announcement of its plan to acquire of Curam Software follows a series of moves IBM made this year to enhance its offerings for cities and governments.   In June, the company introduced the IBM Intelligent Operations Center, which provides a unified view of all city agencies so officials can predict events and quickly respond.  Shortly thereafter, IBM announced it planned to acquire i2, a leading provider of intelligence analytics for crime and fraud prevention.  The acquisition was completed in October.
After the acquisition is completed, Curam Software will be integrated into IBM's Software Group, which is a key driver of growth and profitability for the company.  Curam has approximately 700 employees.  In addition to its headquarters in Dublin, the company has offices in Herndon, VA.; Toronto; Frankfurt, Germany; Canberra, Australia and Bangalore, India.  The acquisition is anticipated to close by the end of December subject to the satisfaction of customary closing conditions and applicable regulatory reviews.
 
About Curam Software
 
Curam Software is the leading provider of social program software solutions, delivering best-in-class solutions for social enterprises globally including, health and human services, workforce services, and social security organizations. Using Curam's solutions, agencies can immediately reap the benefits of client-centric business processes and an outcomes-driven integrated service delivery model Curam's solutions, underpinned by the Curam Social Industry Platform, combines the advantages of software built specifically for social programs, an enterprise platform and service-oriented architecture with the business and technical flexibility required to allow agencies to implement solutions to meet their strategic objectives. Curam Software is headquartered in Dublin, Ireland with offices throughout North America, Europe, Australia, and India. For more information, visit www.curamsoftware.com.
 
About IBM
 
For more information about IBM, visit: www.ibm.com/smartercities.
 

If you are a current DemandTec customer and would like to find out more how the merger will affect you, please contact us today.

 

ARMONK, N.Y. and SAN MATEO, CA- 08 Dec 2011: IBM (NYSE:IBM) and DemandTec (Nasdaq: DMAN) today announced that the two companies have entered into a definitive merger agreement for IBM to acquire DemandTec in an all cash transaction at a price of $13.20/share, or at a net price of approximately $440 million, after adjusting for cash.

The acquisition of DemandTec will extend IBM’s Smarter Commerce initiative by adding cloud-based price, promotion and other merchandising and marketing analytics to help companies better define the best price points and product mix based on customer buying trends.  

Organizations are struggling to meet the demands of rapidly shifting customer buying patterns in the era of mobile and social networks. This new digital marketplace requires companies to be highly responsive to consumer demands on the fly. Whether it’s setting and executing the right pricing strategy or the ability to automatically adjust pricing based on online and offline data, being able to rapidly shift to market changes has become a key competitive advantage for global businesses.  

IBM estimates the market opportunity for Smarter Commerce at $20 billion in software alone. Extending these capabilities to the cloud gives organizations immediate access to consumer information, providing instant return on investment. 

DemandTec delivers cloud-based analytics software that enables businesses to examine different customer buying scenarios, both online and in-store. As a result, companies can spot trends and shopper insights to make better price, promotion, and assortment decisions that increase revenue and profitability.  

By gaining a quick and accurate analysis of consumer trends, for example, a retailer can predict how consumers will respond to a price change before making that critical decision. A brand manager can adjust the marketing mix for a product to better drive sales in the grocery channel. A merchant and supplier can work together to understand how one shopper segment differs from another to craft the best merchandising plan. By understanding shoppers across channels, companies can adapt more quickly to rising customer demands. 

“IBM Smarter Commerce is redefining how brands buy, market, sell and service their customers in ways that their customers want,” said Craig Hayman, General Manager of Industry Solutions at IBM. “Bringing science to the art of pricing and promotion is a big part of this strategy, and the combination of DemandTec and IBM will help marketing and sales executives in retail and other industries drive more revenue and increase profitability.” 

“DemandTec has unprecedented capability to improve customers’ price and promotion tactics on a stand-alone basis and connect retailers and manufacturers for collaborative planning through the cloud,” said Dan Fishback, President and Chief Executive Officer of DemandTec. “IBM Smarter Commerce is the perfect fit for DemandTec. IBM is the only provider of price and promotion offerings within a rich solution set that supports companies’ buy, market, sell and service processes.” 

IBM is a recognized market leader in each of the categories within Smarter Commerce[1], which was launched in March 2011. DemandTec will extend this leadership by enabling companies to use cloud computing services to gain insights about customer merchandising and pricing preferences to better market, sell and deliver the right product at the right place, and at the right price. DemandTec also expands IBM’s Software-as-a Service (SaaS) strategy by adding additional, subscription-based offerings to IBM’s SaaS solutions portfolio.  

DemandTec has approximately 450 customers worldwide in retail, consumer products and other industries. Retail industry segments served include grocery, drug, convenience, consumer electronics, office supplies, apparel, department stores, and quick-serve restaurants. Manufacturer segments include fast moving consumer goods categories such as food, beverage, and health & beauty. DemandTec also has a portfolio of 31 patents in the areas of pricing, response analysis, and promotion analysis.

Consistent with IBM's Smarter Commerce strategy, IBM will continue to support and enhance DemandTec’s technologies and clients while allowing them to take advantage of the broader IBM portfolio. DemandTec will be integrated into IBM's Software Group, which is a key driver of growth and profitability for IBM.  

DemandTec is based in San Mateo, Calif. and has more than 350 employees, with additional offices in Minneapolis, London, Paris, and Bangalore.

The acquisition is subject to DemandTec shareholder approval, applicable regulatory clearances and other customary closing conditions. It’s expected to close in the first quarter of 2012.

________________

[1]"The Forrester Wave: Comprehensive Integration Solutions, Q4 2010", Forrester Research, Inc., November 9, 2010

"Gartner Magic Quadrant for Marketing Resource Management", Kimberly Collins, February 1, 2011

"The Forrester Wave: B2C eCommerce Platforms", Forrester Research, Inc., October 21, 2010

"Gartner Magic Quadrant for Enterprise Content Management", Mark R. Gilbert, Karen M. Shegda, Kenneth Chin, Gavin Tay, October 13, 2011

 

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