Terms of the deal weren’t disclosed. A board member told the Reuters news service that Cupertino-based Solid Information is expected to post revenue of $14.4 million in 2007.
Solid Information’s software speeds up data retrieval by making it possible to access data from a computer’s internal memory instead of from a disk. That’s optimal for applications that require high speed, such as stock trading and routing online traffic, and can also speed up companies’ internal data management.
Clients include Airbus, Cisco Systems Inc., Hewlett Packard Co. and Motorola, according to the company’s Web site. Major investors in the company include private equity firms Apax Partners and CapMan.
IBM said the acquisition is expected to be accretive to earnings by 2010. Solid Information will join IBM’s high-margin software business, which provides about 20 percent of revenue and 40 percent of profit.
“Customer demand for high speed, low-latency, reliable access to business information is growing exponentially as organizations of all sizes strive to ensure real-time access to enterprise data,” Ambuj Goyal, general manager of IBM Information Management, said in a written statement. “Together, IBM and Solid Information Technology will provide a comprehensive set of capabilities that enable companies to deliver trusted information in real-time to every person and every business transaction.”