IBM has purchased Montreal-based Systemcorp ALG Ltd.
Systemcorp, a privately held company, develops project management systems to co-ordinates IT projects. The company's main product, PMOffice, tracks IT projects - including budgets, tasks and risks - to their completion. It is designed assist corporations in making decisions about issues such as technology spending and activity and resource allocation.
Financial terms of the sale were not disclosed. The acquisition is expected to be completed within 30 days.
Systemcorp's operations are expected to be be integrated into IBM's Rational Software development business, and its products will be available from IBM within 30 days of completion of the acquisition. IBM said it plans to integrate Systemcorp's technology into the IBM Software Development Platform.
Many organizations face difficulty managing their IT projects, IBM said in a statement, at an annual cost of $120-million (U.S.) per year. Fewer than half of the projects succeed, and fewer than 75 per cent fully achieve their intended benefits.
"Tightly linking the IT organization with the goals of the overall business enables companies to take a business-driven approach to IT project and portfolio management and software development," IBM Rational general manager Mike Devlin said.
"This will help companies transform the way they manage themselves, which can help make them more focused, responsive and resilient while optimizing their IT investments and improving their bottom-line results."
"Joining IBM will enable us to more tightly integrate our technology with IBM's tools and services organizations, offering customers a complete IT portfolio management solution that is unmatched in the market," Systemcorp CEO Ari Kugler said.
The acquisition is subject to court approval in Canada.