IBM Expands BPM Footprint via Lombardi Acquisition

IBM has signed a definitive agreement to purchase Lombardi, a privately held business process management (BPM) software provider. Through this acquisition, IBM will expand the capabilities of both its WebSphere portfolio of on-demand business solutions and BPM practice.

Lombardi’s solutions offer a department-level approach to delivering BPM, as opposed to IBM’s enterprise approach, according to IBM officials. BPM optimizes business performance by automating the discovery, documentation, automation, and continuous improvement of business processes to increase efficiency and reduce costs. IBM currently offers the WebSphere Dynamic Process edition solution, which is built on a service-oriented architecture (SOA) for on-demand flexibility, as a foundational system for its BPM program.

Lombardi already uses a WebSphere infrastructure to develop its solutions, and partners with IBM to serve many of its clients, which should greatly ease integration and help IBM retain Lombardi clients. Lombardi offers users a collaborative, graphical approach to process application development and extends existing WebSphere capabilities to enable users to automate improvements in key business processes such as product planning, supply chain, human resources, IT services and procurement.

As BPM continues to become more mainstream, IBM by acquiring Lombardi is positioning itself to take a bigger role in helping increasingly distributed and decentralized enterprises perform BPM at the departmental, rather than headquarters, level. IBM also gains access to Lombardi’s easily integratable client base. Whether this will lead to a round of acquisitions across the BPM landscape  remains to be seen, but as BPM becomes more mainstream, some industry consolidation seems inevitable.

Terms of the agreement were not released. Following regulatory approvals and customary closing conditions, the acquisition will be completed and Lombardi integrated into IBM.