Technology giant IBM is to buy Irish software company Cúram Software Ltd to deliver social programmes for smarter cities. The financial details of the acquisition have not been disclosed.
Cúram, which means “care and protection” as Gaeilge, was founded in 1990. One of the company’s investors is State agency Enterprise Ireland.
After the acquisition is completed, Cúram Software will be integrated into IBM’s Software Group, which is a key driver of growth and profitability for the company.
Cúram has about 700 employees. In addition to its headquarters in Dublin, the company has offices in Herndon, Virginia; Toronto; Frankfurt, Germany; Canberra, Australia and Bangalore, India. The acquisition is anticipated to close by the end of December subject to the satisfaction of customary closing conditions and regulatory reviews.
Cúram’s technology is used in more than 80 government agency projects around the world to provide the most appropriate social programmes to citizens and their families in a timely manner, deliver services more effectively and continuously monitor progress toward achieving people’s social and economic potential.
The software is used by health and human services, workforce services and social security organisations around the world to deliver welfare, social insurance and both individual and employer-based social programmes.
13 years of collaboration
“After 13 years of experience working with IBM, we know our companies are an excellent fit,” said John Hearne, CEO, Cúram Software.
“Many of our clients already use IBM technologies and services, and they will benefit from working with Cúram and IBM as one.
“Through IBM’s global reach, we can grow our client base by bringing the benefits of Cúram’s Social Industry Platform to citizens around the world.”
Cúram Software’s Social Industry Platform includes processes to deliver all types of programmes and offers the flexibility needed to quickly update them as policy makers react to different economic times.
The platform also allows government and providers to focus on lowering overall programme costs by ensuring that the benefits and services provided address core issues and that people become more self-sufficient.
Through its Smarter Cities initiative, IBM helps cities and governments serve citizens better by adopting more intelligent and efficient ways to analyse data, anticipate problems and co-ordinate resources. IBM has led more than 2,000 projects to achieve these goals and through its acquisition of Cúram Software, IBM expects to extend its leadership in this area.
IDC Government Insights estimates the new Smarter Cities information technology market opportunity at $34bn in 2011, increasing more than 18pc per year to $57bn by 2014.
“We are working to help cities and governments at all levels transform the way they interact with citizens while improving efficiency,” said Craig Hayman, general manager of IBM Industry Solutions.
“We all have stories to tell about standing in long lines or making countless phone calls to gain access to government services, but it doesn’t have to be that way. Together with Cúram, IBM can transform the way citizens do business with government in a way that benefits everyone.”
Since 1999, IBM and Cúram have collaborated on federal, state, local and provincial-level social programme solutions around the world. More than 90pc of Cúram’s clients use IBM WebSphere middleware and nearly 70pc of its clients use IBM hardware.
