IBM (News - Alert), a global technology and company, has announced that it has entered into an agreement for the acquisition of Dublin, Ireland based Curam Software Ltd., provider of social program software solutions. The company's acquisition will help IBM drive its Smarter Cities initiatives which enables cities and governments across the globe improve their governance by deploying optimized ways of accessing data, for co-ordinating resources and pre-empting potential problems. Although the financial terms of the deal were not disclosed, the acquisition is expected to be closed by the end of December once all customary closing conditions and applicable regulatory reviews have been met.

Curam Software's Social Industry Platform has been designed to provide a single view of all services and benefits offered by the different levels of governments, agencies and both private and not-for-profit organizations. By accessing this data, cities and governments can effectively improve their citizen offerings by accelerating time of policy making in keeping with changing economic situations. Governments and city officials can also use the platform to bring down overall program costs as they are able to better control services and resources for core issues.

By acquiring Curam Software, IBM will be able to extend its Smarter Cities initiatives across Ireland. This will build on the company's previous string of initiatives which include the establishing of a Smarter Cities Technology Center in Dublin at IBM's R&D Lab, for supporting research, development, and commercialisation of improved ways of ensuring connectivity of city systems. The company also set up the Curam Research Institute for exploring and deploying newer business models that support management of social programs for workers and their families. Other lateral moves initiated by IBM in its Smarter Cities Initiatives include setting up of the IBM Intelligent Operations Center in June which offers officials with a single view of all city agencies for pre-empting and responding to potential issues. IBM also acquired i2, provider of intelligence analytics for crime and fraud prevention, in October this year.

In a release, Craig Hayman, General Manager of IBM Industry Solutions, said, "We are working to help cities and governments at all levels transform the way they interact with citizens while improving efficiency. We all have stories to tell about standing in long lines or making countless phone calls to gain access to government services, but it doesn't have to be that way. Together with Curam, IBM can transform the way citizens do business with government in a way that benefits everyone."