Enhancing analytics

IBM and Netezza have announced a definitive agreement whereby IBM will acquire Netezza through a cash transaction at a price of $27 per share or at a net price of approximately $1.7 billion, after adjusting for cash. The move is designed to allow IBM to expand its analytics initiatives to help clients gain faster insights into their business information with increased performance at a lower cost. The deal, which is subject to Netezza shareholder approval, applicable regulatory clearances and other customary closing conditions, is expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2010.

Netezza says it provides a data warehousing appliance that can be up and running in a matter of hours, handling complex analytic queries 10 to 100 times faster than traditional systems. The simplicity, speed and ease of deploying Netezza appliances bring analytics directly into the hands of business users within every department of an organization, such as sales, marketing, product development and human resources.

Netezza designs and develops its appliances on IBM systems technology and, combined with IBM software, powers many applications within organizations. The two companies have been strategic partners for many years, focused on workload optimized systems that deliver integrated systems, software and storage for analyzing vast amounts of complex data.