IBM is making a data storage firm acquisition of its own, announcing plans to acquire Netezza for about $1.7 billion. This is the latest in IBM’s efforts to expand business analytics initiatives, aiding businesses through speedy insight and power boosts for improved performance.

Netezza, a provider of high-performance analytics in data warehousing appliances, manages complex queries with fast deployment. Such data-storage and -management solutions aid many aspects of a business, streamlining access to the information required. Netezza’s stock has more than doubled this year, becoming an acquisition target. IBM has worked with Netezza in the past, and is paying cash for the company, at $27 per share.

IBM’s acquisition of Netezza is yet another move towards the consolidation of such companies, with larger firms including Dell and HP snapping up other companies in order to bulk out their own data storage and management solutions provided to clients. Last week IBM took in OpenPages as another acquisition to bolster its analytics tools. The biggest drama around this sector was, of course, the 3PAR bidding war between Dell and HP, which took place earlier this year. From IBM’s released statement:

“IBM is bringing analytics to the masses. We continue to evolve our capabilities for systems integration, bringing together optimized hardware and software, in response to increasing demand for technology that delivers true business value. Netezza is a perfect example of this approach,” said Steve Mills, senior vice president and group executive, IBM Software and Systems. “Netezza strongly complements our business analytics capabilities and client base. Together, we have the opportunity to quickly leverage the technology and accelerate the offering.”

This process of commercializing data analysis is an important stride through the virtualization journey, as it can be applied to nearly every sector within a business structure. We’re seeing analytics take on its own economy, spanning real-time, scalable and cost-efficient aspects of business needs. Empowering businesses on this level will continue to shift the market, factoring for competitiveness and growth.