IBM Acquires Databand.ai to Improve Data Observability

The News: IBM acquires Databand.ai, a data observability software provider that enables organizations to fix issues with their data before the errors can have a financial impact. This acquisition further strengthens IBM’s software portfolio in the data and AI space to help address the full spectrum of observability. Financial details have not been disclosed at this time. The deal is expected to close on July 27th. Read the full Press Release from IBM.

IBM Acquires Databand.ai to Improve Data Observability

Analyst Take: IBM’s proposed acquisition of Databand.ai appears to be another well-calculated move by IBM as the company seeks to broaden its portfolio of strategic technology that enables its customers to get more from their data. As we all know, over the past few decades, data has increasingly become the lifeblood of organizations. However, for many organizations, data visibility and issues of data quality persist which can negatively impact their bottom line.

Databand.ai will be part of the company’s growing data portfolio and will work with IBM’s existing observability tools and their data fabric to help organizations gain visibility into their data pipelines to improve quality issues, fix errors, and create more trustworthy data that can be used for analytics, business intelligence and machine learning training. This preventative path will empower organizations to trust that they data they are using is clean and accurate no matter where it resides in the organization.

Enterprises will have the ability to run Databand.ai as self-hosted subscription service or as-a-Service — another move that makes sense for IBM as many enterprises today are shifting to IT operating models to adapt so they can run on a full consumption basis and only want to pay for what they will use.

Continuing IBM’s Focus on Data and AI

IBM’s acquisition of Databand.ai appears to be another smart move in a line of many clever tuck-in’s from Big Blue since Arvind Krishna took the helm as CEO. During the investor briefing last October, Krishna announced that the focus for 2022 would be on AI and automation. Data observability and AI, a market that is on the precipice of huge growth, gives organizations a competitive advantage. So, it makes sense that IBM would continue to add to its portfolio suite to meet the needs of its customers.

As I see it, this acquisition further highlights IBM’s strategic focus on data, AI, and automation. Databand.ai used in conjunction with other tools in the IBM’s portfolio will continue to expand observability capabilities for customers which will likely give them an edge over the competition. I also believe this move will help IBM establish a stronger position in the burgeoning observability market — a move that I believe could have lasting impact that company stakeholders should be pleased about.

Disclosure: Futurum Research is a research and advisory firm that engages or has engaged in research, analysis, and advisory services with many technology companies, including those mentioned in this article. The author does not hold any equity positions with any company mentioned in this article.

Analysis and opinions expressed herein are specific to the analyst individually and data and other information that might have been provided for validation, not those of Futurum Research as a whole.