In This Article:
IBM has announced plans to acquire Oracle consultancy Applications Software Technology and collaborate with L'Oréal to develop an artificial intelligence (AI) model.
Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
The acquisition aims to enhance IBM's Oracle solutions across North America, the UK, and Ireland, addressing complexities in public sector cloud transformations.
Applications Software Technology specialises in Oracle Cloud Applications, assisting clients in sectors such as local government and K-12 education.
IBM Consulting Americas senior vice president Kelly Chambliss said: “Public sector clients' cloud transformations often require a consulting partner with industry, domain and technology expertise.
“The acquisition of Applications Software Technology will boost IBM's public sector and Oracle Cloud Application skills to help clients confidently navigate their business transformations.”
The deal builds on IBM's 2024 acquisition of Accelalpha, further expanding its Oracle cloud solutions capabilities.
Based in Lisle, Illinois, Applications Software Technology operates teams in the US, UK, Canada, and India.
The acquisition is expected to close in the first quarter of 2025, pending customary closing conditions and regulatory approvals.
In parallel, IBM has partnered with L'Oréal to develop an AI model aimed at improving cosmetic formulation and sustainability
The AI foundation model aims to support L'Oréal's research and innovation teams globally.
It will process formulation and component data, accelerating tasks such as new product formulation, existing product reformulation, and scale-up production optimisation.
L'Oréal Research & Innovation chief transformation and digital officer Matthieu Cassier said: “Building on years of unique beauty science expertise and of data structuring, this major alliance with IBM is opening a new exciting era for our innovation and development process.”
IBM Fellow vice president of Europe and Africa and IBM Research Zurich director Alessandro Curioni said: “L'Oréal will be able to derive meaningful insights from their rich formula and product data to create a tailored AI model to help achieve their operational goals and continue creating high quality and sustainable products.”
These initiatives align with IBM's broader strategic moves, including the planned $6.4bn acquisition of cloud software vendor HashiCorp, currently under investigation by the UK's Competition and Markets Authority for competition concerns.
"IBM to buy Oracle consultancy, and partner with L’Oréal" was originally created and published by Verdict, a GlobalData owned brand.