Boomi reached a definitive agreement to acquire Rivery.io -- a move to add change data capture capabilities for trusted analysis at speed.
The acquisition, unveiled on Dec. 17, remains subject to customary closing conditions and is expected to be completed before the end of the year. Financial terms were not disclosed.
Based in Chesterbrook, Pa., Boomi is a data integration specialist. The vendor's integration-platform-as-a-service portfolio is designed to enable customers to combine different types of data and data from different sources to prepare it for analysis. Rivery, a New York-based startup that raised $52.5 million in funding before its acquisition, likewise focuses on data integration.
While both vendors help users integrate data, they have different specialties. Boomi has historically focused on automation and integrating applications through tools such as data catalogs rather than individual data points. Rivery is an extract, transform and load specialist whose platform captures changes in data in real-time and delivers those changes to other systems.
Given that both AI-driven analysis and real-time analytics require up-to-date data be instantaneously available to inform data and AI products, change data capture (CDC) is gaining popularity, according to Doug Henschen, an analyst at Constellation Research.
"Low-latency requirements are showing up all over the place in modern applications and use cases, so change data capture is one of the low-latency technologies that are increasingly in demand," he said. "CDC offers a faster data-integration option than traditional batch or micro-batch extract, transform and load -- and extract, load and transform -- technologies."
AWS and Salesforce both use CDC capabilities for their low-latency data integration needs, Henschen continued. Databricks acquired Arcion in October 2023 to add CDC capabilities.
Now, Boomi is following suit.
Data integration specialist Boomi's acquisition of Rivery adds change data capture capabilities.
Adding change data capture
With generative AI a potentially transformative technology for businesses, enterprises are increasingly investing in developing generative AI applications such as assistants and agents.
However, for those generative AI tools to be effective, they need high-quality, trustworthy data. They also need high volumes of data to be properly trained, which reduces the likelihood of AI hallucinations-- incorrect and sometimes even strange outputs--that could lead to misinformed decisions and actions if not appropriately vetted.
Data integration is part of properly preparing data for informing AI applications and other real-time analytics tools. CDC, meanwhile, is an effective means of ensuring the data used to inform those AI applications and real-time analytics is as current as possible. In addition, CDC tools can deliver data changes at high volumes without losing speed.
As a result, Boomi's acquisition of Rivery has the potential to add significant capabilities for customers developing and deploying AI tools and other real-time analytics applications, according to Henschen. With Boomi's historical focus on applications and automation, Rivery's CDC capabilities are a complement.
"As part of its push into AI agentic orchestration this year, Boomi has made it clear that it's going to be stepping up its data integration capabilities," Henschen said. "The acquisition of Rivery is a big step in that direction."
Like Henschen, Stephen Catanzano, an analyst at Informa TechTarget's Enterprise Strategy Group, noted that CDC is becoming more critical as enterprises invest more in developing AI-powered applications and other real-time analytics tools.
"AI development is increasing the importance of CDC," he said. "Real-time data is critical for AI models that need continuous updates for improved predictions, recommendations, and automated actions. CDC provides the real-time data streams that AI systems need to learn and adapt quickly."
Due to the rising importance of real-time data, Boomi's acquisition of Rivery will impact customers, Catanzano said.
"Rivery … strengthens Boomi's position in the integration, automation and data management space, offering a more unified platform for customers," he said.
Future plans
As part of its push into AI agentic orchestration this year, Boomi has made it clear that it's going to be stepping up its data integration capabilities. The acquisition of Rivery is a big step in that direction.
Doug HenschenAnalyst, Constellation Research
With Boomi adding CDC through its pending acquisition of Rivery, Catanzano suggested that the vendor focus its roadmap on adding other data integration capabilities that support AI development and improve its support for multi-cloud environments. He surmised that acquisitions might be how Boomi continues to evolve.
"It may pursue additional acquisitions or partnerships to solidify its position as a leader in data integration and automation," Catanzano said.
Henschen likewise predicted that Boomi could make more acquisitions. In addition to Rivery, the vendor acquired APIIDA, an API management startup, and Tibco's Mashery API management suite in May.
"I wouldn't be surprised to see more deals to advance Boomi's data integration and AI -- [including] agentic AI -- application capabilities," Henschen said.
Eric Avidon is a senior news writer for TechTarget Editorial and a journalist with more than 25 years of experience. He covers analytics and data management.
