Mergers and Acquisitions, Mergers and Acquisitions, SI, Content

IBM Acquires Digital Engineering Technology Consultancy Dialexa

BARCELONA, SPAIN – FEBRUARY 26: A logo sits illumintated outside the IBM booth on day 2 of the GSMA Mobile World Congress 2019 on February 26, 2019 in Barcelona, Spain. The annual Mobile World Congress hosts some of the world’s largest communications companies, with many unveiling their latest phones and wearables gadgets like foldable...

BARCELONA, SPAIN – FEBRUARY 26: A logo sits illumintated outside the IBM booth on day 2 of the GSMA Mobile World Congress 2019 on February 26, 2019 in Barcelona, Spain. The annual Mobile World Congress hosts some of the world’s largest communications companies, with many unveiling their latest phones and wearables gadgets like foldable screens and the introduction of the 5G wireless networks. (Photo by David Ramos/Getty Images)

IBM is acquiring digital engineering firm Dialexa as part of a larger multi-cloud strategy that extends across Amazon Web Services (AWS) and Microsoft Azure.

Arvind Krishna, CEO, IBM
Arvind Krishna, CEO, IBM

This is technology deal number 839 that ChannelE2E has covered so far in 2022.

Dialexa, founded in 2010, is based in Dallas, Texas. The company's services include:

  • Technology strategy
  • Platform engineering
  • Custom software engineering
  • User experience design
  • Machine learning engineering
  • Hardware engineering

    • Dialexa has 300 product managers, designers, full-stack engineers and data scientists. Key customers include Deere & Company, Pizza Hut US, and Toyota Motor North America. The Dialexa team members will tuck into IBM Consulting once the deal closes later this year.

    IBM Acquires Dialexa: Executive Perspectives

    In a prepared statement about the Dialexa deal, IBM Consulting Senior VP John Granger said:

    "In this digital era, clients are looking for the right mix of high-quality products to build new revenue streams and improve topline growth. Dialexa's product engineering expertise, combined with IBM's hybrid cloud and business transformation offerings, will help our clients turn concepts into differentiated product portfolios that accelerate growth."

    Added Dialexa CEO and Co-founder Scott Harper:

    "Digital product engineering represents the tip of the spear for competitive advantage. IBM and Dialexa's shared vision for delivering industry-defining digital products could be a game changer. We are thrilled to become part of one of the world's most iconic companies to continue to scale and grow our global client relationships in this rapidly growing market."

    This is IBM's sixth acquisition of 2022. The other deals involved Envizi, Sentaca, Neudesic, Randori and Databand.ai.

    IBM M&A Strategy: Tuck-In Acquisitions Instead of Big SaaS Deals

    IBM has acquired more than 25 companies since Arvind Krishna became the company’s CEO. Rather than acquiring expensive SaaS software companies, many of the deals essentially position IBM Consulting against Accenture and perhaps even Kyndryl, the 2021 managed infrastructure services spin-off from IBM.

    In addition to the Kyndryl spin-off, IBM has been selling off some assets. For instance, Harris acquired IBM’s i2 intelligence analysis product portfolio in January 2022, and private equity firm Francisco Partners acquired the Watson Health business (now rebranded as Merative).

    Joe Panettieri

    Joe Panettieri is co-founder & editorial director of MSSP Alert and ChannelE2E, the two leading news & analysis sites for managed service providers in the cybersecurity market.

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