IBM said has acquired Clearleap, a 2011 graduate company of the Advanced Technology Development Center (ATDC). Financial terms were not disclosed.
Clearleap, based in Duluth, is a provider of cloud-based video services. The acquisition will boost boost IBM’s cloud computing initiatives. The move aims to empower users to access video from any device at any time and use it as a strategic source of data.
“With consumer demand for video growing exponentially, the business of creating compelling and personalized video experiences is booming. This makes the acquisition by IBM, a global leader in technology, a perfect fit,” said Braxton Jarratt, CEO of Clearleap. “As a part of IBM, we can extend the capabilities and global reach of the Clearleap innovations to grow and scale like never before.”
Clearleap will be integrated into the IBM Cloud platform to provide enterprises with a fast and easy way to manage, monetize and grow user video experiences and deliver them securely over the Web and mobile devices. The move is part of IBM’s broader strategy to help clients unlock the value of video as it grows in importance in business. IBM is advancing its cloud strategy to improve the tool’s performance and management and help clients extract insight from it.
“Clearleap joins IBM at a tipping point in the industry when visual information and visual communication are not just important to consumers, but are exploding across every industry,” said Robert LeBlanc, senior vice president of IBM Cloud. “This comes together for a client when any content can be delivered quickly and economically to any device in the most natural way.”
Increasingly connected consumers want video delivered when they want it and to the multiple devices they use for entertainment and information. In business, video has become a staple of communications across all industries as a primary method to engage with customers and employees for CEO webcasts, conference keynotes, training & education, customer care, how-to videos, and more.
As a result, clients across industries are demanding a secure, scalable, and open cloud-based solution to manage their video services. This is especially significant given researchers estimate that 80% of the world’s data is unstructured and dark to computer systems that cannot effectively manage or exploit it. Video makes up a significant part of that data.
The Clearleap video platform is optimized for scalability, which enables clients to ramp up and support millions of concurrent users within seconds to support special events. Its customers include HBO, A+E Networks, the NFL, BBC America, Sony Movie Channel, Time Warner Cable, and Verizon Communications, among others.