IBM has signed an agreement to acquire Lombardi, a privately held software company based in Austin, Tex. Financial terms were not disclosed. Lombardi is a provider of business process management (BPM) software and services. The company helps organizations automate and integrate business processes to increase efficiencies and reduce costs.

"Any discussion on business improvement inevitably leads to improving the processes that are at the heart of every company," says Craig Hayman, general manager, IBM application and integration middleware. "Recognizing this, IBM has strengthened its presence and investments in business process and integration software to meet these growing client demands. Lombardi fills out our company's portfolio in this key area."

An early supporter of WebSphere, Lombardi's capabilities complement the recent product upgrades and new product announcements in IBM's WebSphere portfolio. These are designed to help clients achieve the agility they need to survive in today's changing business environment. Through its collaborative approach to process application development based on a WebSphere infrastructure, Lombardi extends IBM's customizable, role-based capabilities to empower business users to effect change rapidly in their businesses.