Plenty of IBM (NYSE: IBM) news to report:

  • Big Blue is making another acquisition, this time buying the software portfolio of a company focused on analytics.
  • Plus: A new server line targets emerging markets.
  • And: A startup in Africa wins IBM’s SmartCamp in New York.

First, the acquisition:

IBM is buying California-based Star Analytics’s software portfolio. Financial terms were not disclosed. Star Analytics, which is focused on business data, is privately held. 

“The combination of IBM and Star Analytics software will further advance IBM’s business analytics initiatives, allowing organizations to gain faster access and real-time insight into specialized data sources,” IBM reported. “With growing challenges in gaining a more complete view into varying types of data, companies are increasingly looking for ways to automate and provide business users with self-service access to critical information.”

Star Analytics solutions help enterprises automatically – and without custom coding – integrate data, applications and business intelligence analysis across premise or cloud networks.

“IBM sees an enormous opportunity for our clients to apply Star Analytics to the information they have stored in their financial applications,” said Leslie J Rechan, general manager for IBM Business Analytics. “And to then easily access it within their IBM performance management and business intelligence solutions.”

New Servers

IBM also says it will sell a cheaper set of high-end servers in a bid to reach customers in emerging markets, Bloomberg reports.

The new range of Power computer mainframes starts at $5,947, about 50 percent cheaper than their predecessors, said Rod Adkins, senior vice president of IBM’s Systems & Technology Group. The lower price may help IBM sell more sophisticated servers in developing countries in Africa, South America and Southeast Asia, while opening up the chance for upgrades and add-ons later, Adkins said.

“You have customers that are dependent on what they can afford, and this puts Power into their path,” said Adkins. “Some customers might decide to act small now, and because these products can be scaled they will buy more.”

As the mainframe becomes a commodity because of standard, widely available components, IBM has focused on selling higher-end products to customers like banks and governments that are willing to pay up for sophisticated analysis and security tools. With the new products, IBM may be able to sell its own computer servers to businesses that previously used cheaper, generic hardware.

IBM is betting on emerging markets to carry out this trend. Revenue from those countries rose 4 percent in 2012, compared with a 2 percent drop for the company overall. Revenue for Adkins’s hardware group slipped 7.5 percent, to $18.3 billion.

The Power systems servers, as well as IBM’s higher-end zEnterprise mainframes, can be tailored to analyze large sets of data. Watson, the IBM computer that beat humans on the trivia show “Jeopardy!,” is built with Power servers. The cheaper versions will be available worldwide.

SmartCamp

At the third annual SmartCamp in New York, MoDe, a startup based in Kenya, took home top honors.

MoDe focuses on helping customers secure credit through prepaid mobile service.

eWeek has the details.

IBM employs some 10,000 people across North Carolina. 

[IBM ARCHIVE: Check out more than a decade of IBM stories as reported in WRAL Tech Wire.]