BigFix, which has more than 200 employees and was founded in 1997, has more than 700 customers.
The company originally pitched for both consumer and business patch management software segments, with a popular freeware app used by consumers, but the app was withdrawn a few years ago as BigFix concentrated on its corporate business.
In a press conference held yesterday, officials from both companies said that the plan is to bolster IBM's range of services to clients using the 'unique' range of patch/update offerings from BigFix.
Al Zollar, general manager with IBM's Tivoli software operation, which will operate the BigFix enterprise as part of its division, said that the acquisition fills a critical area for IBM's clients, since it allows many thousands of PCs to be updated simultaneously and all within a few minutes of each other.
BigFix, he explained, has a unique set of offerings that fulfill a much-needed role among major companies.
"It's an important client issue", he said, referring to update and patch management, and the area needs a lot of client support, which is where, he explained, the offerings from BigFix are so useful.
"Research has shown that the management costs of a PC are around four to five times the hardware costs within major organizations. BigFix' strength is that it has a platform that is well orchestrated and flags up those devices that are not in compliance with a company's update or security procedures", he said.
According to Dave Robbins, president and CEO of BigFix, his company has a great set of partners who have been supportive of the IBM acquisition, which he says will significantly enhance the service to them.
"It's a good move for us. It's a great moment for IBM, but perhaps not for our competitors", he said.
Infosecurity notes that investors in BigFix, which is privately owned, include Levensohn Venture Partners, Meritech Capital, Selby Ventures, Split Rock Partners, Thomas Weisel Venture Partners and W Capital.
Terms of the acquisition, which is expected to close in the third quarter, subject to regulatory approval, have not been revealed.
Robbins, who is also chairman of the board with BigFix, said that his company "is excited about becoming part of the IBM team to deliver greater visibility and control to the computing infrastructure, backed by world-class sales, services, support and alliances organizations."
The gameplan is for BigFix to be integrated into IBM Software Group, which has made approximately 60 acquisitions since 2003.