IBM Acquires WebDialogs

IBM Acquires WebDialogs to Expand Web Conferencing Capabilities in Industry-Leading Lotus Sametime.

IBM today announced it has acquired WebDialogs, Inc., a Billerica, Massachusetts-based, privately held provider of Web conferencing and communications services, with more than 500,000 users worldwide. Financial details were not disclosed.

WebDialogs offers online meeting and collaboration services that combine web and audio conferencing into one, easy-to-use experience. Since it is deployed as a service, WebDialogs technology does not require support from an organization's IT department, making it easy to deploy anytime, anywhere. The WebDialogs service is used by leading audio conferencing providers to extend online meeting capabilities to their users.

With the acquisition of WebDialogs, IBM is adding a software-as-a-service delivery model to the Lotus Sametime family of products, providing customers with choice and flexibility in how they buy and operate their web conferencing services. IBM will also integrate the service with its industry-leading(1) collaboration portfolio, including IBM Lotus Notes and IBM Lotus Sametime software.

The WebDialogs Unyte services will expand IBM's offerings in the Web conferencing space, particularly for the small-to-medium-sized business (SMB) segment and departments within larger organizations.

"We are aggressively pursuing new market opportunities across the board," said Michael Rhodin, general manager, IBM Lotus Software. "Building on our leadership in on-premise Web conferencing with Lotus Sametime software, the acquisition of WebDialogs now allows us to reach the growing segment of the market that prefers to buy this capability as a service. IBM now offers unparalleled conferencing capabilities for companies of all sizes."

This acquisition also represents new opportunities for IBM Business Partners. The WebDialogs services offer open application programming interfaces (APIs) that will enable Business Partners to customize, brand and integrate the service into applications, products and other services.

"To remain competitive, businesses are converging voice, video and data systems into one unified communications and collaboration solution that instantly connects employees to the information and resources they need," said Lou Guercia, CEO WebDialogs. "WebDialogs technology will strengthen IBM's existing unified communication and collaboration portfolio with easy to access and use web conferencing services."

WebDialogs will become part of the Lotus unit of IBM Software Group.