Coremetrics Acquires IBM's SurfAid Division

Web analytics provider Coremetrics has acquired SurfAid Analytics, a standalone division of IBM Global Services.

Details of the transaction were not disclosed, though an executive pegged the deal in the “eight-figure” range, making it worth at least $10 million.

SurfAid, launched in 1996, brings to Coremetrics strength in new verticals, an experienced team, and WebSphere Commerce integration, Joe Davis, Coremetrics’ CEO, told ClickZ News.

“Coremetrics has a strong position in retail. We’ve got more clients in that vertical than all of our competitors combined,” Davis said. “With SurfAid, we get some added clients in travel and financial services, where we’ve gotten a foothold, and a very strong presence in publishing.”

Coremetrics will keep all 55 employees at Dallas-based SurfAid, who have an average tenure of four years. Davis said that it has been challenging to find people with solid experience in Web analytics, so that was one of the factors in Coremetrics’ decision.

One of the most attractive parts of the deal is a closer relationship with IBM. Coremetrics has been trying to strike a deal with IBM to get Coremetrics integrated into IBM’s WebSphere Commerce servers for a while, but they resisted, preferring to keep the analytics “in the family” with SurfAid.

As a result of the acquisition, Coremetrics will now have its Web analytics solution integrated into WebSphere Commerce, making it easier for WebSphere’s retail, call center, and kiosk users to choose Coremetrics.

Coremetrics will also gain some technology in the deal, including more ad hoc report building capabilities and best practice-based reports that pull out relevant details in plain English for simpler data sharing. Coremetrics will begin integrating some of the features in coming months, with most of them expected to be rolled into a major release planned for September.