IBM is very ambitious when it comes to Big Data.  Since 2005 the technology vendor has acquired 34 analytics companies for a grand total of $16 billion, a number that grew to 35 last week with the acquisition of Star Analytics.

Star Analytics is a privately held, Redwood City, Calif-based company that makes process-automation software for hybrid cloud deployments. Its offering helps enterprises integrate data with reporting tools and business intelligence apps, on premise or from the cloud, a complex task that is impractical to carry out manually in large corporate environments.

“Star Analytics software allows organizations to move critical analytics source data at will and use it regardless of which application they need to use it with, providing both flexibility and accessibility,” said Quinlan Eddy, CEO, Star Analytics.  “As part of IBM, we can now bring our technologies to a broader range of clients to help them uncover new, untapped growth opportunities.”

Leslie Rechan, the general manager of Big Blue’s analytics business, said that Star Analytics’ solutions will be offered to client organizations that run data-intensive financial apps. She indicated that the software will be integrated with IBM’s performance management and business intelligence solutions.

IBM is actively seeking out opportunities to gain an edge in the increasingly profitable, and increasingly competitive big data market. Last month we reported that the vendor may be interested in buying Splunk, an analytics specialist whose software is used by enterprises all over the world.

We heard from Big Blue again last week, when it unveiled a new network monitoring solution branded as Security Intelligence with Big Data. The platform sniffs out threats, security vulnerabilities and suspicious user activity in order to thwart cyber theft.