IBM announced today the $5 billion dollar cash acquisition of Canadian business intelligence and performance management company Cognos, giving IBM a reputable product line, 4000-person staff, and impressive portfolio of contracts in one fell swoop.

Cognos is an Ottawa company that develops software and systems to help businesses manage information and resources. It has had contracts with such varied groups as Bank of America, Boeing, Mercedes-AMG, Toshiba America, The Office of Budgeting and Planning of Washington DC, and The Royal Army of the Netherlands.

In a statement to IBM investors, it says: "With Cognos, we saw a unique opportunity to acquire a core asset in an important adjacent space."

An adjacent space of special interest to IBM is the Cognos 8 BI platform, which IBM gave the "Best of the Information on Demand Showcase" award in 2006. The platform combines Business Intelligence and Performance Management applications into one open standards-based Service Oriented Architecture (SOA).

The SOA market is a place where IBM has sought to have an appreciable presence for some time. Once the acquisition is complete, Cognos will be integrated into IBM's Information Management Software division, focused on - you guessed it - business intelligence and performance management. Current CEO and president Rob Ashe will become the group leader, reporting directly to IBM General Manager Ambuj Goyal.