IBM Emptoris Acquisition and Its Benefits

IBM's acquisition of Emptoris in 2011 had a significant impact on the company's future.

Emptoris was a leading provider of spend management solutions.

The acquisition brought a range of benefits to IBM, including Emptoris' expertise in spend management and its extensive customer base.

This acquisition marked a strategic move for IBM to expand its presence in the procurement and supply chain management space.

With Emptoris on board, IBM gained access to a suite of software solutions designed to help organizations manage their spend more effectively.

These solutions included contract management, sourcing, and procurement tools.

By integrating Emptoris' solutions into its own portfolio, IBM was able to offer a more comprehensive range of services to its customers.

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Emptoris made a significant acquisition in 2006, buying MINDFLOW, a provider of inbound supply chain planning and sourcing optimization solutions.

This acquisition helped expand Emptoris' product suite and capabilities.

Emptoris acquired several other companies, including diCarta, a contract management software company, and Intigma, a spend data management technology provider.

In 2005, Emptoris acquired Valuedge, Inc., a supplier assessment company, and Zeborg, a spend analytics firm, in 2003.

Emptoris' acquisition spree continued in 2011, with the company announcing a deal to acquire Emptoris to expand its Smarter Commerce initiative.

Here's a list of some of Emptoris' notable acquisitions:

The market opportunity for Emptoris is vast. IBM has estimated that the Smarter Commerce initiative is a US$20bn market opportunity in software alone.

Emptoris' spend management solutions complement IBM's existing capabilities in B2B integration and supply chain management. This means customers can integrate suppliers with key internal systems.

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.

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According to company executives, they are not finished yet. They're still planning to acquire more companies to enhance their "Smarter Commerce" initiative.

The acquisition of Emptoris Inc. was closely followed by DemandTech's lead, and analysts said that Emptoris will enhance products and technologies IBM gained through its $1.4 billion acquisition of AT&T's Sterling Commerce Unit last year.

Company executives, like Joel Reed, Executive Director for Product Line Management, IBM B2B Commerce Software, are optimistic about the future. According to Reed, the deal had been in the planning stages for the past six months.

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.