IBM花12亿美金收购SPSS

ARMONK, N.Y. and CHICAGO, July 28 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- IBM (NYSE: IBM
) and SPSS Inc. (Nasdaq: SPSS
)
today announced that the two companies have entered into a definitive
merger agreement for IBM to acquire SPSS, a publicly-held company
headquartered in Chicago, in an all cash transaction at a price of
$50/share, resulting in a total cash consideration in the merger of
approximately $1.2 billion
. The acquisition is subject to SPSS
shareholder approval, applicable regulatory clearances and other
customary closing conditions. It is expected to close later in the
second half of 2009.





This acquisition is expected to further expand
IBM's Information on Demand (IOD) software
portfolio and business analytics


capabilities, including the range of offerings available through IBM's recently-announced Business Analytics and Optimization Consulting
organization and network of Analytics Solution Centers. The acquisition
is also expected to strengthen IBM's Information Agenda initiative,
which helps companies turn information into a strategic asset.



As companies attempt to control costs and use resources more wisely,
IDC estimates that the worldwide market for business analytics software
will swell to $25 billion this year, growing 4% over 2008.(1)

IBM is expanding its focus on business analytics technology and
services to meet growing client needs to cut costs, reduce risk, and
increase profitability through predictive analytics capabilities, which
include advanced data capture, data mining and statistical analysis.
These capabilities help organizations analyze trends and patterns found
in historical and current data to drive new forms of competitive
advantage by predicting potential future outcomes and optimizing all
elements of their businesses, including product and service offerings
for customers.



Helping Clients Forecast Future Trends


The ability to forecast future trends and spot shifts in consumer
patterns or behavior even before they occur can give businesses a
competitive advantage in today's economy.

"With this acquisition, we are extending our capabilities around a
new level of analytics that not only provides clients with greater
insight -- but true foresight," said Ambuj Goyal, general manager,
Information Management. "Predictive analytics can help clients move
beyond the 'sense and respond' mode, which can leave blind spots for
strategic information in today's fast paced environment -- to 'predict
and act' for improved business outcomes."



The acquisition of SPSS will add a wide array of advanced analytic
capabilities to IBM's IOD software portfolio enabling many new
industry-focused solutions including: customer acquisition and
retention for financial services, patient care improvement for the
healthcare industry, crime prevention for public sector and ideal store
location for retailers and manufacturers. In addition, software
capabilities that address all industries will include demand
forecasting, employee hiring and retention, customer profitability,
credit scoring and fraud detection. All of these new offerings will
help clients drive better business outcomes within their specific
industries.



Predictive Analytics in Action


Predictive analytics technology can also be used to help reduce
credit risk, increase customer loyalty and detect and prevent fraud --
across diverse industries including finance, telecommunications, retail
and government. With the combined
SPSS technology and IBM
software and consulting capabilities, clients will be able to identify
which customers to target, how to reach them, when to make contact and
the most appropriate action to take.



For example, the recognition of patterns, based on intelligent,
timely analysis of the thousands of incident reports, crime tips, and
other data that police departments receive every day, is critical to
fighting crime and protecting the public. Police services often use
predictive analytics to identify and predict patterns of criminal
behavior to help forecast which minor crimes are most likely to
escalate into violence. By investigating dispatch data, the police can
also create models that pinpoint crime "hot spots," so they can place
tactical units where they anticipate crime is most likely to occur. The
Richmond, VA police department provided the results of this kind of
predictive analysis to detectives and saw a 20-30 percent decrease in
violent crime and homicides in a 12-month period. This technology has
also been used in political campaigns to zero in on likely voters to
determine what campaign messages have the greatest impact on undecided
voters.



With this type of technology, Internet merchants now know exactly
which products customers are browsing and buying -- in real-time.
Search engines are now instantly mining information between customer
queries and clickthroughs as the data flows in to determine which
products are in the most demand at a given time. These advances are
also allowing retailers to use data in new ways. With insight into
future buying trends, retailers can address customer needs in a highly
personalized manner. If a customer purchases a specific seasonal
product, the retailers can instantly give the online shopper options on
additional items that he or she may also like to purchase as seasons
change.

Consistent with IBM's software strategy, IBM will continue to
support and enhance SPSS technologies while allowing customers to take
advantage of the broader IBM portfolio.

Following the close of the acquisition, IBM intends to integrate
SPSS within IBM's Information Management software portfolio and into
the many industry offerings already available. Predictive analytics
will also be an essential component of the smarter business systems
that IBM is helping companies and organizations build to help confront
the complex challenges presented by the exponential growth of data.



About IBM

For IBM corporate information
, please visit: http://www.ibm.com/ibm/us/en/

. For Information on Demand and IBM Information Management, please visit: http://www-01.ibm.com/software/data/information-on-demand/

.

For more information on IBM Business Analytics, please visit the online press kit
: http://www-03.ibm.com/press/us/en/presskit/27163.wss

.

Follow IBM and Analytics on Twitter
: http://twitter.com/ibmbizanalytics

Follow IBM analytics on Tumblr
: http://smarterplanet.tumblr.com/tagged/new_intelligence

About SPSS

SPSS Inc. is a leading global provider of Predictive Analytics software and solutions. The Company's complete portfolio of Predictive Analytics Software
(PASW) products -- data collection, statistics, modeling and deployment
-- captures people's attitudes and opinions, predicts outcomes of
future customer interactions, and then acts on these insights by
embedding analytics into business processes. SPSS Solutions address
interconnected business objectives across an entire organization by
focusing on the convergence of analytics, IT architecture and business
process. Commercial, government and academic customers worldwide rely
on SPSS technology as a competitive advantage in attracting, retaining
and growing customers, while reducing fraud and mitigating risk.
Founded in 1968, SPSS is headquartered in Chicago, Illinois. For more
information, please visit www.spss.com
.