Today, IBM (NYSE: IBM) announced that it has entered into a deal to purchase Octo, a United States-based supplier of IT modernization and digital transformation services to the United States federal government. With the purchase of Octo, IBM has become one of the largest partners in digital transformation for the federal government. When the transaction is finalised, IBM Consulting’s U.S. public and federal market business will get access to about 1,500 Octo personnel.
For 2022, Octo will be IBM’s ninth acquisition. IBM has made more than 25 acquisitions since April 2020, when Arvind Krishna took over as CEO, increasing the company’s hybrid cloud and artificial intelligence (AI) capabilities. IBM Consulting had already acquired Dialexa, Neudesic, and Taos, all of which are expanded upon in today’s announcement.
There is a growing need for federal government services, and at the same time, there is a shortage of qualified IT workers. Agencies need an industry partner to assist them find a scalable path to IT modernization that will allow them to take advantage of new technologies and applications, save expenses while increasing productivity and security. New hybrid cloud and AI technologies allow government to rapidly improve services and respond to novel threats.

Source: Prnewswire