IBM [IBM] on Wednesday said it has agreed to acquire Octo, a provider of information technology (IT) modernization services to the intelligence and national security communities, and various other federal agencies, a deal that complements IBM’s existing IT capabilities and further scales its consulting organization’s federal business.
Terms of the deal were not disclosed. Octo, which has 1,500 employees, is a portfolio company of Arlington Capital Partners
.
The acquisition is expected to close in December and will grow IBM Consulting’s public and federal market organization to 4,200 employees.
Octo is based in Reston, Va., and provides its customers with agile, devsecops, artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, blockchain, cloud, open source and data science solutions.
IBM will also be getting Octo’s oLabs, a 14,000 square foot innovation center with in-house computing, which the company said will expand its ability to work collaboratively with federal agencies to rapidly prototype emerging technology solutions.
“Governments require agility and resiliency to meet the evolving needs of citizens directly and in real-time,” John Granger, senior vice president of IBM Consulting, said in a statement. “The combination of Octo’s highly qualified and respected team with IBM’s consulting expertise, technical capabilities and strategic partner ecosystem will enable federal clients to transform faster and better serve citizens.”