IBM has acquired StepZen Inc. to help enterprises get more business value from their data and APIs. StepZen developed a GraphQL server with a unique architecture that helps developers build GraphQL APIs quickly and with less code. This marks IBM’s first acquisition of 2023 since Arvind Krishna became CEO in April 2020.
The rising adoption of hybrid cloud has resulted in data stored everywhere, making APIs essential connectors between different data sources and applications. GraphQL has become a go-to query language for companies to interact with their data, and is emerging as a new standard for APIs. StepZen provides an easier way for developers to build GraphQL APIs, taking a declarative programming approach which results in smaller and more intuitive code, better runtime performance, and faster time to value.
According to a report from Gartner®, by 2025 more than 50 percent of enterprises will use GraphQL in production, up from less than 10 percent in 2021. StepZen was developed by a team of industry veterans who have made key contributions to database technology, and have deep expertise in APIs and cloud-scale deployments. The acquisition closed on February 6, 2023, and the StepZen team and technology will become part of the IBM Software unit.
IBM is innovating through a combination of R&D and strategic acquisitions to deliver the data, AI, and automation solutions that businesses need in the hybrid cloud era. StepZen complements IBM’s organic development in key areas including integration, API management, data fabric, and data management.
For more information about StepZen, visit https://stepzen.com/.
For media inquiries, contact Sarah Murphy, IBM Communications, at srmurphy@us.ibm.com.
