IBM said Friday it intends to purchase marketing software maker Unica for roughly US$480 million, in a move that will boost Big Blue’s capabilities for creating focused marketing campaigns. The deal is expected to close in the fourth quarter of this year.
Unica has more than 1,500 customers, including major retailers like Best Buy and telecoms such as US Cellular, IBM said.
IBM’s announcement follows its recent purchase of Web analytics vendor Coremetrics. Unica’s software will work in concert with Coremetrics’ technology as well as IBM’s WebSphere Commerce platform.
The company’s goal is to help customers generate a “consistent and relevant cross-channel brand experience to promote customer loyalty and satisfaction,” according to a statement.