IBM buys vendor for SOA

IBM said Wednesday it is expanding its broad service-oriented architecture portfolio with the acquisition of AptSoft, a maker of business event processing software.

AptSoft's products will sit in IBM's WebSphere line. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. (See our running slideshow of 2008 tech mergers and acquisitions.)

Also known as complex event processing (CEP), business event processing is seen as a key technology driver for the next generation of SOA. The software analyzes vast amounts of system events in real time, searching for trends and anomalies -- "complex events" -- that may impact the business, and triggers a response process if one is found.

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IBM said Wednesday it is expanding its broad service-oriented architecture portfolio with the acquisition of AptSoft, a maker of business event processing software.

AptSoft's products will sit in IBM's WebSphere line. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. (See our running slideshow of 2008 tech mergers and acquisitions.)

Also known as complex event processing (CEP), business event processing is seen as a key technology driver for the next generation of SOA. The software analyzes vast amounts of system events in real time, searching for trends and anomalies -- "complex events" -- that may impact the business, and triggers a response process if one is found.

For example, the technology could be used by an online gaming site to spot malfeasance among the torrent of transactions that occur each second, or by a trading firm to track minute changes in stock price activity among various markets, IBM said in a statement.

IBM executives are planning to reveal more about the acquisition during a conference call Wednesday at 1:15 p.m. EST.

Other companies in the CEP/BEP market include Tibco and Streambase.

The IDG News Service is a Network World affiliate.