Forrester

Why Read This Report

On July 28, 2009, IBM announced the plan to acquire SPSS, a leading provider of predictive analytics solutions. The acquisition, which is subject to shareholder and regulatory approval, is expected to close later this year and will accelerate IBM in the delivery of its mission and vision of a Smarter Planet. The acquisition strongly supports IBM's steady march into the territory of business application software and nicely complements its takeover of Cognos in early 2008. Other large software companies, specifically the supermajors Microsoft, Oracle, and SAP, will find the air thinner in the software market as IBM's growing portfolio across hardware, platform, and services competes for customers. In fact, predictive analytics and decision support tools represent the tip of the iceberg of smart computing that will change the software industry and its future direction, and IBM is getting into the pole position to deliver the vision.