By offering the individual components to complete SOA development, IBM will allow customers to buy pieces as they are needed, saving money and minimizing hassles, Wohl said. "That's what Webify has been doing, and that's what IBM will be able to do," she said. "It will make IBM more competitive in the marketplace."

Sean Sweeney, an analyst at Cambridge, Mass.-based Forrester Research Inc., said the Webify acquisition gives IBM "a lot more capabilities," particularly in taking a wide range of SOA tools and turning them into smaller components.

"There's a lot of synergy in this," Sweeney said. "The governance [features] will be a key focus area and Webify brings their governance manager [tool], which will strengthen IBM's capabilities."