IBM on May 2 announced its acquisition of BuildForge, a maker of software to help automate software development processes.

Armonk, N.Y.-based IBM acquired BuildForge to bolster its Rational business unit. In addition to automating software development processes, BuildForge's software helps organizations meet audit and compliance requirements, and it helps software development teams document what was created, how it was developed, and where the application was deployed, company officials said.

IBM did not disclose the financial details of the deal.

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BuildForge marks the 33rd acquisition for IBM's software division since 2001 and the third for IBM's Rational division. IBM acquired Rational in 2002 and it became the fifth brand of IBM Software Group.

Nearly 60 customers use BuildForge software, including Google, Adobe Systems, Symantec and Siemens, IBM officials said. Moreover, officials said more than 80 percent of BuildForge's customers use Rational software to govern their software development process.

"The acquisition of BuildForge will ultimately help customers more effectively govern their software and systems development," said Danny Sabbah, general manager of Rational, in a statement. "BuildForge closes the gap between writing code, building an application, and releasing it into production."

This article was originally published on eWEEK.com.