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

 Spend Management Software Extends Cloud-Based Analytics to Procurement Organizations to Help Improve Business Profitability

ARMONK, N.Y.,- 15 Dec 2011: IBM (NYSE: IBM) today announced a definitive agreement to acquire Emptoris Inc., a leading provider of cloud and on-premise analytics software that brings more intelligence to procurement and supply chain operations with spend, supplier and contract management for Smarter Commerce. Financial terms were not disclosed.

With more than 350 customers in 75 countries, Emptoris is based in Burlington, Mass. with offices in the U.S., U.K., France, Germany, Australia, India, Brazil and China. Emptoris' global clients span multiple industries including consumer products, financial services, healthcare, telecommunications, chemical/oil/gas, utilities, construction and industrial manufacturing.

The acquisition is the latest addition to IBM's Smarter Commerce initiative, launched in March 2011, which is aimed at helping companies respond to shifting customer buying patterns. Emptoris brings to IBM Smarter Commerce a set of new, flexible and integrated solutions that orchestrate and manage the sourcing and procurement of goods and materials as part of supply chain management. Supply chain intelligence using these solutions enables better inventory management and can create large savings opportunities.

For example, a large global oil and gas company established a centralized sourcing network across its entire enterprise operating in more than 80 countries, which enabled them to focus on the most strategic, highest cost, frequently-purchased items. This brought speed, transparency and simplification to the sourcing process. As a result, the company runs thousands of sourcing events per year managing more than 15,000 suppliers in 10 languages, achieving more than 9 percent reduction on managed categories of goods.

IBM has estimated that the Smarter Commerce initiative is a $20 billion market opportunity in software alone. Smarter Commerce helps organizations that 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 respond rapidly to customer demands by automating their buying, marketing, selling and service processes. Developing the right procurement strategy and an adaptive supply chain are keys to success in this evolving environment. According to industry analysts(1), IBM is a recognized leader in multiple categories within Smarter Commerce.

With this acquisition, IBM builds on its capabilities in the "buy" aspect of Smarter Commerce and extends it to a new line of c-suite executives – chief procurement officers. This growing list of decision makers includes chief information officers, chief financial officers, chief supply chain officers and chief marketing officers. Procurement and sourcing professionals increasingly need better supplier management, spend analysis and contract management solutions to lower sourcing costs and risks. Emptoris is a leader in delivering these benefits by automating vendor selection, negotiation, management and compliance.

Emptoris' spend management solutions complement the existing B2B integration and supply chain management capabilities IBM acquired through the purchase of Sterling Commerce in 2010. The Emptoris acquisition will allow IBM to deliver more solutions focused on the needs of sourcing and procurement professionals.

"IBM is continuing to deliver innovative solutions to help organizations put the customer at the center of their business operations," said Craig Hayman, General Manager of Industry Solutions at IBM. "Procurement is being asked to show how it can deliver value to the organization. Adding Emptoris strengthens the comprehensive capabilities we deliver and enables IBM to meet the specific needs of chief procurement officers."

"Emptoris leadership in the 'buy' or supply chain capabilities of Smarter Commerce enables customers to better source, optimize and control enterprise spending," said Patrick Quirk, CEO, Emptoris. "Procurement officers need to manage the full engagement, integrating suppliers with key internal systems and have the capability and visibility to manage compliance and mitigate supply risk. That is the value we bring to the procurement organization."

The Emptoris acquisition also will complement IBM's Supply Chain Management (SCM) Business Process Outsourcing capabilities within its Global Process Services organization. Emptoris' expertise and technology enhances IBM's Procurement and Supply Chain services, including its ability to apply category expertise and global operations to help clients streamline and automate supplier interactions, resulting in improved strategic sourcing, reduced service costs, and greater savings from spend with suppliers.

Founded in 1999, Emptoris has over 725 employees around the world. The acquisition is anticipated to close in the first quarter of 2012, subject to the satisfaction of customary closing conditions and applicable regulatory reviews.

About Emptoris

For more information, please visit the Emptoris Web site: www.emptoris.com.

About IBM

For more information on IBM Smarter Commerce, visit: http://www.ibm.com/smarterplanet/us/en/smarter_commerce/overview/.

 

ARMONK, N.Y. - 31 Jan 2012: IBM (NYSE: IBM) today introduced new software to help organizations better manage and secure the explosion of smartphones and tablets in the workplace, while also managing laptops, desktops and servers.

In addition to the new mobile security and management software introduced today, IBM also announced the acquisition of Worklight. Worklight accelerates IBM’s comprehensive mobile portfolio, which is designed to help global organizations leverage the proliferation of all mobile devices -- from laptops to smartphones and tablets.

As the mobile workforce is expected to reach more than 1.19 billion by next year, there are new pressures to connect personal smartphones and tablets to corporate networks and provide employee access to business data on them. At the end of 2011, almost half of mobile devices used in the workplace were employee owned according to IDC. This “Bring Your Own Device” (BYOD) trend raises additional concerns about managing security risks. Mobile exploits doubled in 2011 from 2010, according to the IBM X-Force Mid-Year Trend and Risk Report.

IBM Endpoint Manager for Mobile Devices helps organizations support and protect the growing mobile workforce. Through this software, firms can use a single solution to secure and manage smartphones and tablets, as well as laptops, desktop PCs, and servers. It manages Apple iOS, Google Android, Nokia Symbian, and Microsoft Windows Mobile and Windows Phone devices. 

The software extends security intelligence to deal with the growing threats from mainstream adoption of the BYOD trend. Organizations can install the IBM software in hours, remotely set policies, identify potential data compromises and wipe data off the devices if they are lost or stolen. The software helps configure and enforce passcode policies, encryption and virtual private network settings. 

“As the BYOD movement accelerates, it presents new opportunities and challenges for organizations. In order for them to take advantage of this trend, it is important that organizations have mobile security and management policies in place,” said Bob Sutor, vice president, IBM Mobile Platform. “The new offering from IBM will help organizations manage personal and enterprise-owned mobile phones and tablets across IT networks in order to minimize risk, increase productivity and enhance innovation.”

New York-based School System Automates its Computing Endpoints and Looks to Mobile Management

The Western New York Regional Information Center (WNYRIC) housed within Erie 1 BOCES, a regional public education services organization in Buffalo, N.Y., manages hundreds of thousands of computing endpoints for more than 100 school districts. IBM Tivoli Endpoint Management software automatically updates security protection and power management of its computers and servers across the school district. Before using the software, one of the ways to perform these functions was for someone to drive to each location and manually update each machine. IBM software will help the WNYRIC reduce energy usage through automating power settings of these thousands of endpoints, resulting in an estimated savings of $3.2 million in a year.

Now more of the district's administrators, teachers and students are looking to tap their district-issued and personal iPads, iPhones and Android devices to create lesson plans, communicate and share documents on their network. The WNYRIC is planning a comprehensive way to manage mobile security issues and compliance and has gotten early access to IBM Endpoint Manager for Mobile Devices.

“Our school districts are looking for a way to manage and secure hundreds and potentially thousands of smartphones, laptops and other computers,” said Jill Holbrook, associate director of the WNYRIC. “Automating the computer updates and security protection across our entire network—including mobile—would speed our ability to provide more secure and efficient services to the administrators, teachers and students we support.” 

Managing and Securing Mobile Devices throughout the Workplace

This new release of IBM Endpoint Manager extends IBM capabilities in managing the security and compliance of servers, computers and point-of-sales devices, such as ATMs and self-service kiosks to smartphones and tablets using mobile operating systems while addressing the unique aspects of those devices. IBM Endpoint Manager for Mobile Devices enables customers to:

  • Safeguard Data -- Selectively wipe enterprise data when devices are lost or stolen and configure and enforce passcode policies, encryption, VPN, and more.
  • Provide Flexible Management -- Secure and manage employee- and corporate-owned mobile devices using a combination of email-based and agent-based management, while preserving the native device experience.
  • Maintain Compliance -- Automatically identify non-compliant devices and take action by denying email access or by issuing user notifications until corrective actions are implemented.
  • Unify the Infrastructure -- Leverage a single infrastructure to manage and secure all devices: smartphones, media tablets, desktops, laptops, and servers.

The IBM Endpoint Manager for Mobile Devices is built on IBM’s 2010 acquisition of BigFix software.

 

 

Acquisition Adds Leading Platform for Smartphones and Tablets to Comprehensive Mobile Portfolio

ARMONK, NY - 31 Jan 2012: In a move that will help expand the enterprise mobile capabilities it offers to clients, IBM (NYSE: IBM) today announced a definitive agreement to acquire Worklight, a privately held Israeli-based provider of mobile software for smartphones and tablets. Financial terms were not disclosed.

With this acquisition, IBM's mobile offerings will span mobile application development, integration, security and management. Worklight will become an important piece of IBM's mobility strategy, offering clients an open platform that helps speed the delivery of existing and new mobile applications to multiple devices. It also helps enable secure connections between smartphone and tablet applications with enterprise IT systems.  

In a recent study conducted by IBM of more than 3,000 global CIOs, 75 percent of respondents identified mobility solutions as one of their top spending priorities.*   In fact, for the first time ever, shipments of smartphones exceeded total PC shipments in 2011.** 

“Our clients are under increased pressure to meet the growing demands of a workforce and customer base that now treat mobility as mission critical to their business,” said Marie Wieck, general manager, IBM application and infrastructure middleware. “With the acquisition of Worklight, IBM is well-positioned to help clients become smarter mobile enterprises reaching new markets.”  

Worklight accelerates IBM’s comprehensive mobile portfolio, which is designed to help global corporations leverage the proliferation of all mobile devices -- from laptops and smartphones to tablets. IBM has been steadily investing in this space for more than a decade, both organically and through acquisitions.  

As a result, IBM can offer a complete portfolio of software and services that delivers enterprise-ready mobility for clients -- from IT systems all the way through to mobile devices. This builds on IBM's deep understanding of its clients and their evolving IT needs over the last several decades. Today, the world's top 20 communications service providers use IBM technology to run their applications, while every day more than one billion mobile phone subscribers are touched by IBM software.  

Worklight supports consumer and employee-facing applications in a broad range of industries, including financial services, retail and healthcare. For example, a bank can create a single application that offers features to enable its customers to securely connect to their account, pay bills and manage their investments, regardless of the device they are using. Similarly, a hospital could use Worklight technology to extend its existing IT system to allow direct input of health history, allergies, and prescriptions by a patient using a tablet. 

Worklight Builds on IBM’s Comprehensive Mobile Software and Services Offerings 

Ubiquitous connectivity provides businesses with unique opportunities to better connect with their customer base, interact with external users and employees in more efficient ways, drive productivity and reach new audiences. IBM's strategy is to offer its customers a complete set of the software and services they need to effectively bring mobile devices into their business infrastructure. These capabilities include: 

  • Build and Connect Mobile Applications: The explosive growth of mobile has created a fragmented landscape for enterprises to support, often with limited budgets and skills. IBM’s development and integration tools, complemented by Worklight, help clients to develop mobile applications and their supporting infrastructures for a variety of platforms just once - including Apple iOS and Google Android - while offering capabilities to securely connect to corporate IT systems.
  • Manage and Secure Mobile Devices: As Bring Your Own Device or “BYOD” gains popularity, IT departments are looking to find an efficient and secure way to enable employees’ use of mobile devices in the work place. Rather than implement a separate infrastructure solely for mobile devices, IBM’s offerings are helping customers deliver a single solution that effectively manages and secures all endpoints. These unified capabilities can now extend from servers and laptops, to smartphones and tablets.
  • Extend Existing Capabilities and Capitalize on New Business Opportunities: The rapid adoption of mobile computing is also creating demand for organizations to extend their current business capabilities to mobile devices, while capitalizing on the new opportunities that mobile devices uniquely provide. For instance, IBM's software, services and industry frameworks offer clients the ability to use mobile to engage with their customers around growing business opportunities such as analytics, commerce and social business applications. 

"In the last year, we have seen surging demand from enterprises for mobility solutions that will support the unique set of challenges introduced by new smartphone and tablet platforms,” said Shahar Kaminitz, CEO and founder, Worklight. “Building on our existing partnership with IBM, the acquisition of Worklight further enhances IBM’s broad mobile portfolio. Now it will be easier than ever for our clients to offer secure and connected applications to their customers, business partners and employees.”  

In addition to Worklight, IBM today is also unveiling IBM Endpoint Manager for Mobile Devices, a new software system that will enable corporate users to manage and secure their mobile devices these applications are running on. 

The acquisition of Worklight is expected to close in 1Q12. Worklight will sit within IBM’s Software Group. 

About Worklight 

Today Worklight delivers mobile application management capabilities to clients across a wide range of industries including retail, financial services, technology, travel and hospitality and manufacturing.  

This enables organizations to efficiently create and run HTML5, hybrid and native applications for smartphones and tablets with industry-standard technologies and tools. Worklight’s unique capabilities provide a complete and extensible integrated development environment (IDE), next-generation mobile middleware, powerful management and analytics. Worklight dramatically reduces time to market, cost and complexity while enabling better customer and employee user experiences across more devices. By enabling organizations to only develop and integrate the applications once -- for any platform -- it frees up time, resources and skills to focus on other business opportunities.  

IBM is a world leader in the development of open standards critical to the web and mobile enablement, and co-chairs the W3C HTML5 working group. For more information on IBM’s mobile software and services portfolio visit: http://www-01.ibm.com/software/solutions/mobile-enterprise/.