Compuware Corp., a provider of software and services for monitoring and enhancing the performance of software applications, has bought application performance management company dynaTrace Software for $256 million in cash, Compuware said today.

The acquisition comes two years after Compuware acquired Gomez, a web performance monitoring company, for $295 million in cash. With both dynaTrace and Gomez under its wing, Compuware can now offer a broader range of technology and services for managing the performance of web applications—including those based on a company’s own web site, on a mobile Internet site, or hosted in an Internet-based “cloud” infrastructure—from application development through testing and deployment, Compuware CEO Bob Paul says.

“Organizations today depend on the rapid development and delivery of high-performing applications to drive revenues, customer satisfaction and brand,” he says. “To meet these demands effectively, I.T. organizations must have visibility into the performance of every transaction, from development, through test and in production.”

DynaTrace’s customer base includes such retailers as Macy’s Inc., Zappos.com and Bon-Ton Stores Inc. Bon-Ton, for example, uses dynaTrace to quickly identify particular pieces of software code or database links that may be causing a slowdown in the response time of online promotions, according to Dan Gerard, Bon-Ton’s divisional vice president of technologies and web services.

Privately held dynaTrace had $26 million in revenue over the past 12 months and will add between $35 million and $45 million to Compuware’s revenue for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2012, Compuware says. Compuware’s revenue was $249.55 million for the fourth fiscal quarter ended March 31, 2011, up 8.5% from $230.0 million for the same quarter a year ago, as net income fell 6.8% to $34.81 million from $37.36 million. For the full fiscal year ended March 31, Compuware’s revenue was $928.93 million, up 4.1% from $892.18 million a year earlier, as net income declined 23.7% to $107.44 million from $140.81 million.

DynaTrace, which is based in Boston, employs 180 people in the United States and abroad. “Substantially all of these employees, including the leadership team, are expected to remain with Compuware,” Compuware says.

Macy’s is No. 17 in the Internet Retailer Top 500 Guide; Zappos is a unit of Amazon.com Inc., No. 1 in the Guide.