HPE has announced it has acquired software provider BlueData to help it boost its AI and analytics efforts.

HPE wants to roll out more software to capture the enterprise’s demand for big data systems and by purchasing BlueData, it hopes it can bring to market the tools that businesses need a whole lot faster than it is able to on its own.

BlueData’s software is available in the cloud, on-premise and on hybrid infrastructure, making it a promising addition to HPE’s acquisition portfolio.

“BlueData has developed an innovative and effective solution to address the pain points all companies face when contemplating, implementing, and deploying AI/ML and big data analytics,” Milan Shetti, SVP and GM, Storage and Big Data Global Business Unit at HPE said.

“Adding BlueData’s complementary software platform to HPE’s market-leading Apollo Systems and professional services is consistent with HPE’s data-first strategy and enables our customers to extract insights from data – whether on-premises, in the cloud, or in a hybrid architecture.”

HPE expects the acquisition to close in January 2019, although it isn’t clear whether the entire BlueData team will join HPE to help with the integration or if HPE’s staff will continue the development of the platform when it is integrated with its Apollo range of machine learning tools and services.

“Growth in the volume and the types of data in the market continues to accelerate, as does the demand for a fast, easy, and unified consumption experience for AI and big data analytics,” said Kumar Sreekanti, Co-founder and CEO of BlueData.

“From our perspective, data is fuel, and BlueData’s software is the engine that helps businesses consume their data and deliver insights in the most effective and efficient way. We’ve had tremendous customer success by providing a turn-key solution that delivers an as-a-service experience for AI and big data, and are excited to reach even more customers as part of HPE.”