International Business Machines Corporation (IBM) has announced in a press release that it has acquired Clearleap, Inc., a provider of cloud-based video service. The acquisition would help boost IBM's cloud computing initiatives and become the platform to transform video into a strategic source of data.
IBM said that video has become an important part of people's lives as connected consumers want their videos delivered when they want it and to the multiple devices they use for entertainment and information.
Furthermore, businesses use video as a primary method of communicating with customers and employees for CEO Webcasts, conference keynotes, training & education, customer care, how-to videos, and more.
The increase in the use of video has resulted in clients across industries demanding a secure, scalable, and open cloud-based solution to manage their video services, according to IBM.
Researchers estimate that 80 percent of the world's data, which a significant part comes from video, is unstructured and dark to computer systems that cannot effectively manage or exploit it.
IBM is looking to address that issue with the acquisition of Clearleap.
"Clearleap joins IBM at a tipping point in the industry when visual information and visual communication are not just important to consumers but are exploding across every industry," Robert LeBlanc, the senior vice president of IBM Cloud, said in the press release.
Clearleap's video platform is optimized for massive scalability that allows clients to ramp up and support millions of concurrent users within seconds to support special events.
Rob Enderle, an analyst at Enderle Group, told Computerworld that the acquisition of Clearleap is a smart move for IBM.
"Video becomes a component of a complete cloud offering and without it, IBM would likely either be locked out of a lot of lucrative accounts or relegated to subcontractor status," he said.
IBM, one of the larger enterprise cloud service provider, is competing with companies like Google, Amazon, Microsoft and Softlayer.
The company offers public, private and hybrid cloud setups.
IBM said that Clearleap will be integrated into the IBM Cloud platform to help provide enterprises with a fast and easy way to manage, monetize and grow user video experiences.
Clearleap will also help deliver video securely over the Web and mobile devices.
IBM didn't disclose financial details of the transaction in the press release.
