IBM to Acquire Coremetrics
Addition of web analytics to enhance the company’s business analytics strategy.
IBM, a provider of IT infrastructure services, today announced a definitive agreement to acquire Coremetrics, a provider of hosted web analytics. The company claims that Coremetrics will expand its business analytics capabilities by enabling organizations to use a cloud-based delivery model to gain real-time insight into consumer interactions internally and through social media networks to develop faster, more targeted marketing campaigns. It did not disclose financial terms of the acquisition.
The company states that organizations are increasingly looking for ways to optimize their marketing processes and gain deeper insights into client demands in order to drive brand loyalty by executing more personalized customer interactions. Companies are faced with an increasingly complex set of digital outlets to interact with customers, ranging from websites and mobile applications to e-mail and social media sites. Businesses must continuously focus on enhancing the customer brand experience and respond quickly to marketplace changes to differentiate themselves.
It further states that relevant business information is being generated every second on the web. Today, 70 percent of a consumer’s first interaction with a product or service takes place online. Through Coremetrics, the company is gaining the ability to help businesses rapidly gain intelligence into social networks and online media sources through a cloud-based delivery model and incorporate this insight into their business processes to create smarter, more effective marketing campaigns.
The company avers that today, Coremetrics delivers web analytics capabilities to more than 2,100 global brands across a wide range of industries including retail, financial services, media and publishing, travel and hospitality and education. It adds that customers include Bank of America, Holiday Inn, PETCO, 1-800 Flowers, Office Depot, Victoria’s Secret, Virgin Atlantic Airways and Seton Hall University.
The company articulates that Coremetrics’ offerings enable more effective marketing campaigns that can provide real-time intelligence on what consumers are saying about products and services being offered to them, and allow clients to make fact-based, accurate decisions on marketing expenditures. As a result, marketing teams can gain deeper insight about their consumers and present personalized recommendations, promotions and other sales incentives across a variety of channels where the consumers interact with their brand. These channels span traditional outlets such as storefronts and catalogs and newer outlets including all forms of eCommerce and social media.
It explains that Coremetrics’ offerings are a new addition to its business analytics portfolio. By acquiring Coremetrics, the company will be able to deliver new business analytics solutions, with the web analytics capabilities clients need to help measure the effectiveness of their marketing campaigns and understand the shopping habits, likes and dislikes of their customers. In addition, Coremetrics software complements the company’s existing software and services portfolio of offerings from WebSphere, information management and business analytics and optimization. The company further explains that upon closing, Coremetrics will become part of its application and integration middleware portfolio which provides the backbone of transaction processing on the Web and powers many of the world’s leading retail sites. Through Coremetrics, the company is gaining the ability to help businesses empower their marketing professionals to automate and optimize their marketing processes to create the greatest possible return on their marketing expenditures.
According to the company, consistent with its software strategy, it will continue to support and enhance Coremetrics’ technologies and clients while allowing them to take advantage of its broader portfolio. Coremetrics’ approximately 230 employees will be integrated into the company. It mentions that the deal is expected to close in the third quarter of 2010, subject to regulatory approvals and the satisfaction of other customary closing conditions.
“With this acquisition, we are extending our capabilities to give clients greater insight about customer behavior and sentiment about products and services, and give true foresight into their future buying patterns,” said Craig Hayman, General Manager, IBM WebSphere. “Marketing departments can benefit from these capabilities very quickly because we are delivering this in a Software-as-a-Service model. The combination of IBM and Coremetrics will maximize marketing expenditures and also make the buying experience more convenient, personal and interactive for consumers.”
“Marketers increasingly need the ability to see across their organizations and the agility to make split-second decisions based on real-time data,” said Joe Davis, CEO, Coremetrics. “The combination of Coremetrics and IBM will deliver deeper business insights to address the real challenges and opportunities all companies face in an increasingly digital world.”
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