IBM snaps up Texas Memory Systems

Vendor plans to incorporate Texas products into its own portfolio

IBM has announced today that it is to acquire privately held flash memory vendor Texas Memory Systems (TMS).

The financial details of the deal were not disclosed, but it is expected to close later this year.

TMS' technology is based on solid-state storage systems that consume less power. Its products are designed to help companies improve performance and reduce server sprawl, power consumption, cooling, and floor space requirements, helping end users to save money, improve performance and invest more in innovation.

It is believed Big Blue made the move to incorporate the TMS technology into a variety of its products including storage, servers, software and PureSystems offerings.

Brian Truskowski, general manager of systems storage and networking at IBM, said: "The TMS strategy and solution set align well with our Smarter Computing approach to information technology by helping clients realise increased performance and efficiencies at lower costs. Solid-state technology, in particular, is a critical component of our new Smarter Storage approach to the design and deployment of storage infrastructures, and part of a holistic approach that exploits flash in conjunction with disk and tape technologies to solve complex problems.”

Holly Frost, founder and chief executive of TMS, which employs about 100 people, added: "IBM understands the positive and dramatic impact that solid-state technology can have on storage and server infrastructures. Once the acquisition is complete, we look forward to advancing the technology even further. With the global reach of IBM, we expect to grow the engineering staff and product lines much faster than we could before."