IBM Doubles Down On BPM With Lombardi Acquisition

In a move that completely reshuffles the deck in the business process management (BPM) software market, IBM recently acquired Lombardi Software, a leader in human-centric BPM suites. Estimated at between $150 million and $180 million, the deal plugs critical holes in IBM's BPM strategy and helps Big Blue establish a solid foothold in the market for human-centric BPM solutions. The combined offering promises to bridge the gulf between application development professionals and business process professionals by connecting business stakeholders, process analysts, and process developers to a single environment for collaborating on process discovery, development, and maintenance. Existing IBM customers will welcome Lombardi's simplified business-oriented environment, while existing Lombardi customers will benefit from the robust process integration platform provided by WebSphere Process Server (WPS). However, current IBM and Lombardi BPM customers should buckle up for a bumpy ride, as IBM figures out the best way to integrate the newest addition to its already crowded BPM stack.