IBM has acquired more than 20 companies since 2020, all with the intention of bolstering its hybrid cloud and AI capabilities
IBM has acquired telco consulting services and solutions provider Sentaca to bolster its hybrid cloud consulting business, so that it can better support communications service providers (CSPs) as they modernize on multiple cloud platforms and chase after new revenue streams.
Sentaca, headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts, builds and migrates mission-critical applications on cloud service providers’ and open-source platforms like Red Hat OpenShift and OpenStack. The company will join IBM Consulting’s Hybrid Cloud Services business to help tackle several challenges facing carriers right now, such as cost-of-ownership, monetization, creation and delivery of new services and scalable and secure architecture.
“Sentaca’s domain expertise, assets and client relationships will help IBM meet industry demand and strengthen its position as a prime systems integrator for the emerging network and 5G market,” IBM said in a statement.
“Our goal is to help modern networks thrive in an open, hybrid cloud environment that will bring edge and 5G to life for enterprises and consumers,” commented John Granger, senior vice president of IBM Consulting. “The proliferation of mobile devices, wireless connectivity, and new media platforms is driving convergence among telco, media, and entertainment, which makes our acquisition of Sentaca all the more valuable for our clients.”
IBM has been on an acquisition spree since Arvind Krishna’s appointment as CEO in April 2020. In that time, the company has acquired more than 20 companies, 10 of which have been in the consulting business. According to IBM, these aqusitions serve to bolster its hybrid cloud and AI capabilities.
Recent cloud acquisitions include Nordcloud, Taos, BoxBoat and SXiQ. While not in this timeframe, IBM’s 2018 acquisition of Red Hat was a significant milestone — a $34 billion milestone — in IBM’s hybrid cloud journey.
Krishna, who was at the time senior vice president of IBM Hybrid Cloud, commented: “IBM is committed to being an authentic multi-cloud provider, and we will prioritize the use of Red Hat technology across multiple clouds. In doing so, IBM will support open source technology wherever it runs, allowing it to scale significantly within commercial settings around the world.”
