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IBM has announced it has acquired Clearleap to improve cloud users’ access to videos, by integrating with Clearleap’s video library delivery platform.

The financial terms of the deal have not yet been disclosed, but IBM has said that the seven-year old company based in Georgia will be integrated into its cloud platform. Clearleap’s platform securely delivers large video libraries to multi-screen devices and conventional televisions. With its integration into IBM’s cloud platform, enterprises will likely get a fast and easy way for growing, monetising and managing user video experiences.

The acquisition forms part of IBM’s largest strategy focused on video, which is growing in importance among businesses. Companies are increasingly looking at videos to connect with partners and customers by sharing training courses, how-to videos, customer care videos and webcasts.

The deal is a smart decision by IBM, according to Enderle Group analyst Rob Enderle. He said: “Video becomes a component of a complete cloud offering and without it, IBM would likely either be locked out of a lot of lucrative accounts or relegated to subcontractor status.”

“Video may not be a major cloud component, but it is a critical one that is necessary to their long-term strategy of becoming a complete cloud service provider at enterprise scale.”

IBM’s most recent video-based acquisition was that of Aspera in 2014. Aspera creates technology for faster large-data transfers in broadband. Another related acquisition in 2014 was Cleversafe, which builds unstructured data storage software and appliances. According to IBM, the Clearleap technology will be integrated with Cleversafe and Aspera technologies for its customers to better index, store, and retrieve video content on IBM Cloud.

Do you think Clearleap will make a valuable addition to IBM? Let us know your thoughts in the comments.