IBM Acquires Software Provisioning Firm

IBM is poised to purchase Swiss software firm Rembo, whose technology lets enterprises and other large organizations perform system-wide installations of operating systems. The acquired technology will become an integral part of Big Blue's Tivoli and virtualization portfolios.

Installing software on thousands of machines is a daunting task for large businesses, government agencies, and educational institutions, typically taking weeks or months and consuming many resources, said Kevin Leahy, director of virtualization strategies at IBM.

"Rembo Technologies solves that problem by enabling remote installations of operating systems and software upgrades in a matter of minutes," he said. "That means that all of the hardware in a system, including servers, laptops, and desktop computers, can all be put on the same OS simultaneously, with very little downtime."

Safe and Secure

A government switching to , for example, would no longer need to send I.T. specialists to every office across the region while workers and computers sit idle.

In addition, Rembo's security capabilities protect workstations used by multiple individuals in a virtualized environment by automatically cleansing the software after each use.

So, if a user happens to introduce a computer virus or leave personal information on the hard drive, the software and drive would be wiped away and the original operating system reinstalled, Leahy explained.

Rembo also fills a gap in IBM's virtualization platform, Leahy said, noting that, in a virtual computing environment, companies integrate hardware, software, storage, and systems that might be running on different operating systems.

"This will help these companies install software and middleware much more quickly as their needs change," he said.

Changing Workloads

IBM will integrate Rembo into its Tivoli Provisioning Manager and Director applications.

"With server blades, especially, there is a lot of provisioning being done to handle changing workloads," Leahy said. "If you can install the OS on a blade with little time and effort, it becomes more flexible for the business."

Rembo currently has some 800 customers worldwide, including the City of Munich, the International Committee of the Red Cross, the University of South Australia, and the University of Wisconsin.

Financial terms of the deal, which should be finalized in the second quarter, were not disclosed.

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