IBM To Acquire Cleversafe

Today IBM announced that it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Cleversafe Inc. later this year. Cleversafe being a lead developer and manufacturer of object-based storage software and appliances will strength IBM’s position in storage and hybrid clouds. Once the deal is completed, Cleversafe will be integrated into IBM’s Cloud business. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Today IBM announced that it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Cleversafe Inc. later this year. Cleversafe being a lead developer and manufacturer of object-based storage software and appliances will strength IBM’s position in storage and hybrid clouds. Once the deal is completed, Cleversafe will be integrated into IBM’s Cloud business. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.

The rapid growth of unstructured data presents several challenges for enterprise companies. Storage, finding the correct balance of on-premises and cloud storage, and management of the massive amounts of data being generated are the two most significant challenges. Cleversafe’s object storage enables companies to efficiently manage and storage massive amounts of unstructured data being generated today while meeting the demands of data-intensive workloads delivered via the cloud. As IBM integrates Cleversafe into its Cloud business it will be able to offer strategic data flexibility, simplified management, and consistency with on-premise, cloud, and hybrid cloud deployment options to its customers.

Based in Chicago and employing roughly 210 people, Cleversafe was founded in 2004. Cleversafe is most known for its object storage solution, Dispersed Storage Network (dsNet). Cleversafe holds over 350 patents around object-based, on-premise storage solutions that enable clients to scale to Exabytes (EB) of storage. Customers use dsNet for low-cost, large scale active archives and unstructured data content stores.

Cleversafe’s solutions compliment IBM’s existing software defined Spectrum Storage portfolio. dsNet will be integrated into IBM Cloud, which will enhance IBM’s Infrastructure as a Service, SoftLayerand the SoftLayer Object Storage services platform. This will give customers a hybrid cloud deployment model that offers a greater choice of geography, performance, cost optimization, and flexibility. Customers will also be able to use Cleversafe technology as a foundational content repository and data archive when using SoftLayer cloud services and IBM Bluemix to create applications.

The upcoming acquisition is the latest in a string of investments from IBM that focus around Flash, Software Defined Storage and Cloud Storage environments. The acquisition also allows IBM to offer one of the most comprehensive storage portfolios in the industry. The deal is expected to close later this year after customary closing conditions including regulatory clearances.

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