IBM announced it has signed a definitive agreement to acquire Alphablox Corporation. The acquisition is expected to close later this month. Financial details were not disclosed. Alphablox’s operations will be integrated into IBM’s Information Management software business. Alphablox software enables customers and business partners to embed analytics — such as customer buying trends — into existing business processes, and makes information available to users and applications. As a result, the software helps organizations boost business insight by accessing data from across the enterprise and then enables the presentation of that information to be viewed in a customized way. With the acquisition of Alphablox, IBM is strengthening providing developers with the ability to build business applications that will enable them to gain multiple views of real-time information from a variety of data sources. Alphablox software can work with both IBM and non-IBM data sources, including Oracle, Microsoft and Sybase. Alphablox technology will be integrated into IBM’s middleware portfolio of offerings in several areas. www.ibm.com/software/data

Bluestream Database Software Corp. announced the release of its XStreamDB 3.1 native XML DBMS. XStreamDB 3.1 is a native XML database management server optimized for storage and retrieval of XML documents and data. It features a transaction architecture, the XQuery query language with update extensions, XML Schema support, and full-text indexing and search. XStreamDB 3.1 is a device and operating system independent platform Native XML database server built on Pure Java that requires minimal administration. The included XStreamDB Explorer application can be used for ad hoc queries and browsing the database. The WebDAV connector provides for file and folder views of documents in the database, making them accessible to XML editors such as Blast Radius, XMetaL and Altova XMLSpy. www.bluestream.com

SAP AG announced that it has acquired substantially all of A2i, Inc. to broaden the master data management capabilities of the SAP NetWeaver integration and application platform. Financial terms of the agreement were not disclosed. A2i, Inc. develops and markets xCat, a platform for enterprise-wide product content management and cross-media catalog publishing. The A2i xCat solution will become a fully integrated part of the SAP NetWeaver stack. Available in the fall of 2004 as an update to the 2004 version of SAP NetWeaver, SAP Master Data Management (SAP MDM) will incorporate new capabilities gained from the acquisition of A2i’s xCat suite. Specifically, xCat will support for enterprise-wide product content management (PCM), more powerful data aggregation and harmonization and improved Web-based electronic catalogs for both sell-side and procurement deployments. The enhanced solution will also add entirely new functionality in the areas of search, intelligent image and document management and print catalog publishing. www.sap.com/solutions/netweaver

Conviveon Corp. announced Version 6.0 of SiteConnect Server. The new version incorporates built-in shopping cart functionality with customizable fulfillment workflow capabilities. SiteConnect’s new shopping cart functionality is integrated with its content management, collaboration, and e-marketing functionality. SiteConnect Server 6.0 now allows the creation of enhanced RFQ functionality and more traditional e-commerce solutions. Version 6.0 also includes a new XML based interface for providing dynamic content on existing web sites using existing technology, including Microsoft .Net, PHP, Cold Fusion, and Active Server Pages. Also included are new features for ranking search results by relevancy and the ability to index documents attached to a content record. Additional enhancements to SiteConnect Server include upgraded multi-lingual content management and development capabilities, and expanded options for content organization. The new version of Conviveon SiteConnect Server is available now. www.conviveon.com

Language Weaver, Inc. announced general availability of its application software upgraded to version 2.2. New or improved features include: A friendlier, easier-to-read and more informative web client for the client-server application; Translation job queuing when using the web client for the client-server application; Optional web client user authentication; Multithreading, which enables users to process translations up to 20 percent faster on a dual-CPU system; Transliteration control for applicable language pairs, which allows users to independently toggle display of unknown words and transliteration of unknown words; and Browser support for Netscape 7.1 and higher, in addition to Microsoft Internet Explorer 5.5 and above. Language Weaver has upgraded all language pairs to be compatible with the new application software. Those customers upgrading from a previous version will need to replace their language pair CDs, which are available from Language Weaver at no additional charge. Language Weaver has also adopted a new numbering scheme to make it easier for customers to identify the compatibility of application versions with the language pair software they use as they move forward. www.languageweaver.com

Captaris, Inc. announced the launch of Interchange, a solution to combine content integration with information delivery. Captaris Interchange, built on Microsoft .NET architecture, provides integration with enterprise business applications through a rules-based workflow engine that provides information processing and formatting and allows multiple concurrent delivery options including fax, email, HTML, XML and SMS. Interchange will initially be available in North America through select distribution channels in Q3 2004. www.captaris.com

Open Text Corporation announced an alliance with Siemens Business Services, a subsidiary of Siemens AG. Siemens will combine its range of IT services, including consulting, systems integration and IT systems management, with Open Text’s Livelink Enterprise Content Management (ECM) software. As part of the partnership, Open Text becomes a Siemens premier partner, providing its full range of Livelink-based solutions. Siemens Business Services becomes a Premier Business Alliance Partner of Open Text, with the ability to deliver management consulting, system implementation, software customization and project-based reselling for Open Text solutions. The agreement also allows all affiliates of Siemens Business Services worldwide to participate in the contract. www.siemens.com/sbs, www.opentext.com

Stellent, Inc. announced it has acquired Content Management de Mexico, S.A. de C.V., a content management solutions provider who has offered sales, support and training services for Stellent products across Mexico and Central America since 2001. Stellent purchased the company for $750,000 in cash and certain contingent considerations based on revenues generated in Mexico over a two-year period. www.stellent.com