IBM acquires cloud testing soln provider Green Hat

ARMONK, USA: IBM has announced a definitive agreement to acquire Green Hat, software quality and testing solutions for the cloud and other environments.

Financial terms were not disclosed.

Green Hat helps customers improve the quality of software applications by enabling developers to leverage cloud computing technologies to conduct testing on a software application prior to its delivery.

"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," Kloeckner.

According to recent industry reports, software testing represents more than 50 per cent of overall development costs, and testing teams often spend upwards of 30 per cent of their time managing the complexity of the test environment.

"We've been focused on transforming our customers' software development processes through innovative testing and quality improvements," said Peter Cole, CEO, Green Hat.

"We are looking forward to bringing Green Hat's innovative application virtualization and continuous integration testing expertise to IBM customers who have a growing business need to better manage their complex testing environments," added Cole.

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, added the release.

The release further added, upon the acquisition close, 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.