TIBCO Acquires Spotfire, Adding BI to SOA

TIBCO Software this week agreed to acquire Spotfire, a vendor focused on advanced business-intelligence, foretelling an intriguing blend of BI and service-based applications.

TIBCO said it will pay $195 million in cash for Spotfire.Spotfire focuses on predictive-analysis software that helps companies analyze data using an interactive (Q&A-based) visual approach. The vendor touts more than 800 active customers including ABN AMRO, AMD, Chevron, Merck, Pfizer, Shell, Texas Instruments, Toshiba and Unilever.

TIBCO aims to integrate those capabilities with its existing SOA (service-oriented architecture) and BPM (business process management) products. The combination would let businesses analyze the performance of service-based applications in real-time, getting a truer picture of the enterprise in action.

TIBCO's opportunity may be with companies with existing BI capabilities that need to bring those platforms up to date--and are eying more flexible service-based environments as the delivery mechanism for next-generation business apps.