Analyst: Ovum
Report Name: UIM Evaluation: IBM's Information On Demand
Excerpt: IBM can claim what is arguably the industry's broadest portfolio of unified information management (UIM) software, services and industry-specific solutions. All of these offerings fall under IBM's Information On Demand (IOD) initiative, which the vendor launched in early 2006. IOD is a cross-IBM effort, spearheaded by the Information Management division, and supported by both IBM-developed and IBM-acquired properties.
IBM has acquired more than 20 firms that have bolstered its IOD product and services offerings, with three major acquisitions - Ascential, FileNet and Cognos - playing particularly critical roles in its ongoing strategy.
The IOD effort is complementary to IBM's other major strategic initiatives, particularly its service-oriented architecture (SOA) activities. As is the case with its SOA portfolio, one of the biggest challenges IBM faces with its IOD lineup is that of integrating, rationalizing and packaging the dozens of products and services that it encompasses. In its high-level messaging,
IBM is promoting the importance of companies establishing an "information agenda." The information agenda is intended to map out corporate business and technology goals and to create a roadmap to ensure that companies can leverage their corporate information as a strategic asset in the pursuit of those goals.
