IBM has agreed to buy Softek Storage Solutions for an undisclosed sum. It plans to use Softek's data mobility technology to build more flexible and efficient storage systems for customers of its Global Technology Services division.

Softek's Transparent Data Migration Facility (TDMF) product can be used to keep data available while moving it from one storage system to another, whether from the same vendor or not. Versions of TDMF exist for Unix and Windows. The company's products are particularly useful when managing a change in infrastructure in a live storage system, IBM said.

IBM and Softek have been partners for more than 10 years. Softek is also a partner of Hewlett-Packard.

Softek customers can look forward to "IBM's continued commitment" following the acquisition, Softek's Chief Executive Officer Steven Murphy said in a message on the company's Web site.

The companies expect the deal to close by the end of March, subject to regulatory approval.

Softek, a privately held company based in Vienna, Virginia, reported year-on-year revenue growth of 24 percent for the quarter ended Dec. 31, its seventh straight quarter of positive earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization.

IBM has announced a string of acquisitions in recent months. In December, it said it will buy privately held compliance software vendor Consul Risk Management for an undisclosed sum, while earlier in the year it bought Internet Security Systems (ISS) for $1.3 billion in cash, intending to incorporate it into its Global Technology Services division. It also paid $1.6 billion for enterprise content management company FileNet and $740 million for service management company MRO Software.