IBM buys Schlumberger biz services unit

NEW YORK: IBM has agreed to buy a services division of Schlumberger Ltd. to expand its business of keeping companies' technology running during disasters and other unplanned events.

Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

IBM, based in Armonk, New York, said that it would hire 260 Schlumberger employees as part of the acquisition of the business continuity services division, which includes 40 data centers in Europe and the United States. The unit, based in London, has more than 750 customers.

Schlumberger recently has put more emphasis on its core oilfield services operations, moving away from its ill-fated investments in information technology. It has sold its Infodata business unit, its telecom billing software operation and its SchlumbergerSema business.

IBM said that business continuity services, which involve helping businesses recover from manmade and natural disasters as well as any other outage, have become increasingly important as companies strive to comply with government regulation.

IBM, which sells computer hardware and software, said services accounted for 44 per cent of its revenue in the fourth quarter.

Additional reporting by Carolyn Koo

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