I agree with Alan Zeichick's analysis of IBM's acquisition of modeling tool vendor Telelogic: the overlap with IBM's Rational product line is high, the acquisition "is a bid to buy market share....we've taken a powerful innovator and strong IBM competitor out of the market."
The software development industry typically pendulums on modeling tools: excess, backlash, abandonment, code is king, frustration, some modeling helps, we can model everything, excess ...
Right now, modeling is not popular. But I think it's actually passed its nadir and, if history holds, we should see modeling increase in popularity. The problem for IBM and Rational is that part of the pendulum is the embrace of new modeling graphics/languages.