IBM buys Texas Memory Systems

Computer giant IBM has acquired high-performance Flash memory maker Texas Memory Systems (TMS) for an undisclosed sum.

The Houston, Texas-based company employs about 100 staff and has been developing solid-state disk accelerator technology since it was founded in 1978.

Its products are capable of running complex databases in solid-state memory, making database access hundreds of times faster than disk.

Its technology is designed to help customers to reduce server sprawl, power consumption, cooling and floor space requirements.

As the price per GB of solid-state memory falls, many analysts expect a shift in server memory and databases to solid-state on performance grounds.

Brian Truskowski, general manager, systems storage and networking at IBM, said that solid-state technology was a "critical component" of IBM's current storage approach.

The tech giant plans to incorporate TMS products into its IBM Pure Systems line, which it launched in April as it looked to compete against the likes of Oracle and Cisco in the integrated systems market. It will also look to integrate TMS technologies into other IBM storage, servers and software lines.

"Once the acquisition is complete we look forward to advancing the technology even further. With the global reach of IBM, we expect to grow the engineering staff and product lines much faster than we could before," said Holly Frost, founder and CEO of TMS.

The deal is expected to close later in 2012.