IBM Makes 3rd SOA Buy with Webify Purchase

IBM has made its third purchase in the service-oriented architecture (SOA) technology space, buying Webify Solutions, the company announced Wednesday.

The acquisition should be of particular use to IBM as it targets SOA development and deployment in the health-care and insurance industries, the prime focus of Webify’s technologies. SOA is a way to create and manage IT systems through reusable software and services.

IBM didn’t disclose the deal’s financial terms.

Last year, IBM made two SOA acquisitions, buying hardware appliance firm DataPower in October and portal technology and tools company Bowstreet in December. IBM and rival Hewlett-Packard have both stressed the importance of SOA to their businesses and are constantly trying to gain an advantage over each other in terms of the technologies they can offer to customers.

Based in Austin, Texas, privately held Webify provides industry-specific software and services to help users more rapidly develop and deploy SOA applications. Its product portfolio includes hundreds of prebuilt, standards-based accelerators, tools and frameworks that can be used to resolve particular industry issues—for instance, ensuring that health-care SOA applications comply with the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) federal standards for U.S. health-care information.

IBM is integrating Webify’s technology into its IBM Software Group under the WebSphere middleware brand. IBM Global Services (IGS) will also use Webify software in its SOA work with customers, with the offerings complementing development already under way at IGS Solution Center in India around SOA-based composite business services.

Webify Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Manoj Saxena will continue to lead Webify at IBM. He’ll take on an additional role, helping to define IBM’s SOA strategy. Saxena will report to Robert LeBlanc, general manager of WebSphere at IBM.

Webify’s 120-strong staff, based in the United States and Mumbai, India, are joining IBM.

-China Martens, IDG News Service (Boston Bureau)

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