International Business Machines (IBM) Corporation today confirmed it would acquire the Internet-based marketing analytics company Coremetrics, with the financial terms being kept private.

Coremetrics has developed proprietary cloud-based analytical and tracking software to allow companies to gain intelligence from online social networks, including Twitter, and Facebook, among even regular blogs, to give firms insights as to what consumers are saying about their offerings, all in real-time.

The idea is as firms gain insights into what consumers thoughts are about their brands or offerings, marketers could better understand buying patterns hence deliver more targeted campaigns and capitalize by changing to better meet consumer wants faster.

The company also offers firms email targeting campaigns and a system to purchase advertising through its search engine bid management cloud-based software. It also offers firms other marketing analytical tools, including cross sell recommendations and systems to track the effectiveness of marketing campaigns.

As of today, more than 2,100 brands use its services, including companies like Office Depot, and Bank of America, Victoria’s Secret, among other firms.

Once the acquisition is complete, Coremetrics will become part of IBM’s application and integration middleware portfolio.

Coremetrics was founded in 1999, is privately funded with venture capital, has more than 200 staff, and is based in San Mateo, California.