IBM Buys OpenPages, 17th Massachusetts Acquisition Since 2003

Waltham, MA-based OpenPages, a maker of business software for managing corporate risk and compliance activities, is being acquired by IBM for an undisclosed sum. Armonk, NY-based IBM announced the news in a press release this morning.

Once the acquisition closes, IBM (NYSE: [[ticker:IBM]]) says it will integrate OpenPages into its Business Analytics software portfolio. This will be Big Blue’s 17th acquisition of a Massachusetts-based company since 2003. The most recent one—marketing and Web analytics firm Unica (NASDAQ: [[ticker:UNCA]])—was announced last month.

OpenPages was founded in 1996 (and formerly called American Computer Innovators). The company started out making content management software, but is now a leader in the field of governance, risk management, and compliance—software that helps businesses comply with regulations to be more transparent and accountable. It has raised an undisclosed amount of venture funding from Goldman Sachs, Globespan Capital Partners, Matrix Partners, Mesirow Financial, Sigma Partners and North Hill Ventures.

OpenPages has more than 200 corporate customers, including Allianz, Barclays, Carnival Corporation, Duke Energy, SunTrust, TIAA CREF and Williams. IBM and OpenPages previously have worked together on risk management software for the banking, financial services, and insurance industries.

“The combination of IBM and OpenPages software, business process insights, and industry expertise” will help businesses “tackle their complex risk challenges,” said OpenPages CEO Michael Duffy, in a statement.

Big tech companies across the board are paying more attention to governance and risk management as a business. In January, Hopkinton, MA-based EMC (NYSE: [[ticker:EMC]]) acquired Archer Technologies and said it would integrate the compliance company within its RSA security division. Other companies in the sector include eIQ Networks, Lumigent, Protiviti, and giants like Oracle, SAP, and Microsoft.

Author: Gregory T. Huang

Greg is a veteran journalist who has covered a wide range of science, technology, and business. As former editor in chief, he overaw daily news, features, and events across Xconomy's national network. Before joining Xconomy, he was a features editor at New Scientist magazine, where he edited and wrote articles on physics, technology, and neuroscience. Previously he was senior writer at Technology Review, where he reported on emerging technologies, R&D, and advances in computing, robotics, and applied physics. His writing has also appeared in Wired, Nature, and The Atlantic Monthly’s website. He was named a New York Times professional fellow in 2003. Greg is the co-author of Guanxi (Simon & Schuster, 2006), about Microsoft in China and the global competition for talent and technology. Before becoming a journalist, he did research at MIT’s Artificial Intelligence Lab. He has published 20 papers in scientific journals and conferences and spoken on innovation at Adobe, Amazon, eBay, Google, HP, Microsoft, Yahoo, and other organizations. He has a Master’s and Ph.D. in electrical engineering and computer science from MIT, and a B.S. in electrical engineering from the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign.