IBM Acquires PSS Systems

PRESS RELEASE

ARMONK, N.Y., Oct. 13 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- IBM (NYSE: IBM) today announced that it has acquired PSS Systems, a privately held company based in Mountain View, Calif. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.

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PSS Systems' software helps organizations analyze, automate and implement information governance policies across massive amounts of electronic business information and dispose of that information in an automated way. These capabilities are critical elements to remaining responsive to legal obligations while reducing data storage costs.

As information continues to grow at exponential rates, companies across a wide range of industries are looking for ways to reduce the costs of collecting, processing, reviewing and storing information by setting information disposal policies that can meet legal requirements.

To improve the management of data and these increasing legal obligations, Chief Legal Officers and CIOs are investing in software to automate and implement routine enforcement of information governance and retention policies. Needlessly retaining information increases business risk, impedes the ability to respond to legal requests, and puts costs restraints on organizations in every industry.

A recent study by the Compliance, Governance and Oversight Council found that fewer than 25 percent of organizations were able to dispose of data properly because they lacked rigorous legal hold management practices and effective record retention programs. The report also estimates that that costs associated with legal electronic discovery average more than $3 million per case and about