IBM buys complex-event processing vendor for SOA

by Chris Kanaracus

January 23, 2008 —

IBM said Wednesday it is expanding its broad SOA (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.

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. Eastern Time.

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

IDG News Service