Last week, I had the opportunity to watch the simulcast of IBM’s unveiling of its latest Smarter Analytics offerings aimed at helping organizations contend with their escalating ‘Big Data’ needs. I was particularly interested in this event because of THINKstrategies’ upcoming Cloud Analytics Summit which will examine this same topic.

IDC estimates enterprises will invest more than $120 billion to capture the business implications of their burgeoning internal and external data sources by acquiring a combination of analytics software, systems and services by 2015.

To say that IBM has made a ‘big bet’ on business intelligence (BI), big data and analytics would be an understatement. The company has acquired 28 companies focused on these areas since 2005, including Algorithmics, Coremetrics, DemandTec, Emptoris, i2, and Netezza. It has combined these assets with its internal staff to now boast over 9,000 business analytics and optimization consultants and 400 researchers working out of analytics solution centers in Berlin, Beijing, Dallas, London, New York, Tokyo, Washington and Zurich.

IBM’s latest round of solutions aimed at helping businesses contend with their big data challenges are focused on predictive analytics to reduce fraud, manage financial performance and encourage better executive decision-maker.

The Smarter Analytics Signature Solution will put IBM’s adaptive systems to work helping to protect against potential fraud by embedding advanced algorithms into business processes which can detect potential issues in real time. This technology can substantially reduce deceptive practices in a variety of industries, such as insurance and healthcare, as well as tax and other governmental functions.

IBM’s ‘Next Best Action’ Smarter Analytics Signature Solution will leverage the company’s growing portfolio of customer behavior tracking and analysis tools which can help businesses of all sizes better understand their customers’ preferences and requirements so they can more effectively target their products and services to meet their needs.

The third offering unveiled during last week’s announcement was IBM’s new CFO Performance Insight capability. This solution will give users access to real-time financial information which can help them better manage day-to-day operations and achieve their long-term objectives.

What is worth noting in last week’s announcement is that IBM doesn’t expect to satisfy its customers’ analytics needs with powerful software and systems along. It recognizes that most of its customers will also need consulting help to achieve their objectives. This is a clear example of a growing market segment which can benefit from IBM’s combination of software, systems and services. And the company is predicting that it will generate approximately $16 billion in business analytics revenue by 2015.

IBM’s Vice President of Big Data Products, Anjul Bhambhri, will be a keynote speaker at THINKstrategies’ Cloud Analytics Summit on Wednesday, April 25, at the Computer History Museum in Mountain View, CA. I’m sure she will provide more insight about IBM’s latest offerings during her talk.

Disclosure: This post was written as part of the IBM for Midsize Business program, which provides midsize businesses with the tools, expertise and solutions they need to become engines of a smarter planet.

analytics Big Data Cloud Analytics Summit Data Integration IBM