Dell buys SaaS integration company Boomi

With Boomi, Dell could expand its cloud options

Dell acquired on Tuesday a software-as-a-service integration company called Boomi as it tries to expand its cloud computing offerings.

Terms of the deal were not disclosed, and the company did not immediately comment on the acquisition price.

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Boomi provides services to simplify deployment and management of cloud-based applications alongside existing on-premise applications. The company's on-demand integration platform, called Atomsphere, allows for easy transfer of data between applications run on-site and hosted services such as Salesforce.com's CRM (customer relationship management) software.

For Dell, the acquisition is a step ahead in building a stronger portfolio of products as more businesses move toward Web-based computing, the company said in a statement.

Earlier this year, Dell tried to acquire storage firm 3Par as a way to gain a foothold in large enterprises moving toward cloud computing, but lost the bidding war to Hewlett-Packard. Earlier this year, Dell acquired storage vendors Ocarina Networks and Exanet.

Copyright © 2010 IDG Communications, Inc.