IBM (NYSE: IBM) announced today the completion of the acquisition of StreamSets and webMethods from Software AG, after receiving all necessary regulatory approvals. This acquisition brings together leading capabilities in integration, API management, and data ingestion.
The acquisition expands IBM’s already extensive software portfolio, adding StreamSets’ real-time data ingestion capabilities to IBM’s AI and data platform, and webMethods’ integration platform as a service (iPaaS) capabilities to IBM’s Automation solutions. Now, IBM customers and partners will have access to one of the most modern and comprehensive application and data integration platforms in the industry to drive innovation and prepare their businesses for AI.
Organizations are facing an explosion of applications, APIs, events, and distributed data in hybrid cloud environments worldwide. IDC estimates that 1 billion new applications are expected by 2028 due to the rapid emergence of generative AI. As organizations continue their digital transformation journeys, application and data integration solutions are critical for application modernization and effective deployment of AI across the enterprise.
StreamSets and webMethods currently serve over 1,500 companies worldwide and will provide additional integration technologies for next-generation AI applications that require data and connectivity everywhere. The industry continues to grow, with IDC predicting that the global integration software market will exceed $18 billion by 2027.
“This is a significant acquisition for IBM as we help our customers turn complexities into competitive advantages,” said Dinesh Nirmal, Senior Vice President of IBM Software Products. “StreamSets and webMethods bring new capabilities to our customers to embrace data and AI and better manage the growth and complexity of applications. We will empower integrators, developers, and IT teams to build and manage integrations at an even larger and more impactful scale.”
StreamSets adds cloud-based real-time data ingestion capabilities for various data types to watsonx, IBM’s AI and data platform. Data ingestion helps move large amounts of data from multiple sources to a centralized storage hub, where it can be utilized by other systems/applications. When that data moves between sources and destinations, streaming tools like StreamSets provide real-time updated data to the end destinations. This product, ready for hybrid and multicloud environments, which IBM plans to integrate as a premium feature in watsonx.data, enables users to ingest, enrich, and harness the potential of streaming data.
webMethods helps organizations manage the tangled network of systems, applications, and data silos within enterprise environments. The webMethods iPaaS enables users to deploy and run integrations anywhere, while including the results in unified integration flows. This helps global organizations meet local data sovereignty requirements, driving innovation at the enterprise level and leveraging centralized management.
IBM plans to extend webMethods’ iPaaS to support IBM’s integration products, providing current customers a path to hybrid multicloud integration. By supporting various integration patterns, including applications, APIs, events, and B2B, IBM will help users compose modern, unified, and seamless applications and services.
With this acquisition, IBM reinforces its commitment to providing innovative, reliable, and secure solutions that enable businesses to tackle the challenges of the digital future and seize the opportunities that AI presents.