Green Hat, a multinational company specializing in software quality and testing solutions for the cloud and other environments, will soon be under IBM's giant tech umbrella.
The computing giant has announced a definitive agreement to buy Green Hat, which has joint headquarters in London and Wilmington, Del.
Green Hat enables developers to use cloud-computing technologies to conduct testing on a software application prior to its delivery. Historically, to run simulation testing on a software program, a development team must construct an actual testing lab made up of both hardware and software. This time-consuming and labor-intensive process has become even more compounded with the short development cycle needed to compete in rapidly expanding markets such as those for smartphones and tablets. Green Hat says by using its solutions, a virtual test environment can be set up in a matter of minutes versus weeks, and for a fraction of the cost.
It's estimated that software testing represents more than half of overall development costs, and testing teams often spend upward of 30 percent of their time managing the complexity of the test environment. Green Hat creates a virtual environment that simulates a wide range of IT infrastructure elements, without the constraints of hardware or software services. This continuous test environment enables developers and quality professionals to test software earlier and more frequently throughout the software development lifecycle, the company said.
When the deal closes, Green Hat will join IBM's Rational Software business. When combined with the IBM Rational Solution for Collaborative Lifecycle Management, developers and testers can achieve unprecedented levels of efficiency, effectiveness, and collaboration while delivering quality software to their business, the companies said. IBM and Green Hat will help customers maximize continuous integration of an application, including creating virtual protocols, message formats, services, customization and engagement with third-party software.
"This acquisition extends IBM's leadership in driving business agility and software quality by changing the way enterprises can manage software development cost, test cycle time and risk," said Kristof Kloeckner, general manager, IBM Rational. "Together, we offer the most complete solution available today for agile software development and testing, with flexible options such as the cloud. Green Hat's application virtualization capabilities will help our customers accelerate their delivery of business critical software.
Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.
