IBM is acquiring Swiss company Rembo Technology which
specialises in software to allow customers to automatically update
their operating systems on many servers, desktops and
laptops.
Rembo’s products allow an IT administrator to install operating
systems from a centralised “dashboard” in a few minutes, said Big
Blue.
Rembo's security features can also protect workstations used by
multiple people in a virtualised environment by automatically
"wiping away" operating systems and personal data after each use,
and re-installing clean software.
For instance, university students using computer kiosks could
inadvertently introduce a computer virus or leave personal
information on the hard drive.
With Rembo software, every time a student logs off, the infected
software and hard drive is automatically stripped, and the original
operating system re-installed.
Rembo has more than 800 customers worldwide from government,
education and industry.
Customers include the City of Munich, the European Synchrotron
Radiation Facility, Groupe Mutuel Assurances, the Istituto
Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare, the International Committee of the
Red Cross, PSA Peugeot-Citröen, and the University of
Nottingham.
IBM intends integrating Rembo’s operations within its IBM's
Tivoli division, and include its technology into IBM’s
Virtualisation Engine portfolio of software, hardware and
services.
Rembo will be integrated into the IBM Tivoli Provisioning
Manager and IBM Director software.
The acquisition is expected to be completed this quarter. The
value of the buy has not been disclosed.