Computer major IBM has announced new social technology enhancements to its developerWorks programme to help software developers more easily work together on open standards-based innovations.

'My developerWorks' brings social networking attributes into a single view for users, enabling them to build online relationships to create new groups, comment on and share content, build skills and grow a worldwide network of peers to drive innovation, said a release in Chennai on Tuesday.

Separately, IBM announced in New York that it has bought the data discovery software assets of Exeros, and will use them to enhance the services offered by its business analytics consulting division.

Exeros makes software that can automate the search for relationships between different databases, something the company says is a prerequisite for successful data quality or data integration projects.

Its chief executive officer and co-founder, Piyush Gupta, is a former employee of IBM, where he helped develop an enterprise information integration tool called DataJoiner.

IBM plans to integrate the Exeros tools with other elements of its information management software range, it said. That range includes software from Cognos, which IBM acquired for US$5 billion in November 2007.

The Exeros software can cut the cost of data warehousing and master data management, IBM said.

Among the software's users will be consultants at IBM's business analytics and optimisation services division, created last month following a reorganisation of its global business services consulting activities.

IBM did not disclose the terms of the acquisition.

Exeros, founded in 2002, is a privately held company funded by two venture capital firms, Globespan Capital Partners and Bay Partners, and by investment management company AllianceBernstein.