US Data Storage Giant EMC Acquires Cloud Security Firm CloudLink

EMC this week acquired CloudLink, a small Ontario-based security company that focuses on encrypting hybrid cloud environments. CloudLink, a 20-person Canadian security company , encrypt workloads across cloud platforms including amazon web Services, Microsoft Azure Cloud, IBM Softlayer and VMware's vCloud Air (EMC subsidiary).

The US-based data storage giant has bought CloudLink to address data security requirements and evolving cloud security threats. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. EMC said, CloudLink will form part of EMC's federation enterprise hybrid cloud and continue its membership in the Microsoft Azure Cloud platform.

"As part of EMC, CloudLink will empower customers to embrace the hybrid cloud while addressing concerns around data security and sovereignty, and maintaining regulatory compliance," according to a post on CloudLink’s web site. 

"CloudLink will become an integral part of Federation Enterprise Hybrid Cloud, making encryption as a service simple, and [putting] trusted hybrid clouds within everyone's reach," an EMC spokesman said.

CloudLink has more than 50 customers, including government, banks and healthcare providers in the United States. The company is growing fast, it's quarterly revenues have more than tripled in the past year. Today, it's annual revenue surpass $ 1 million. Much of the company's growth was fuelled by a $ 6 million funding round led by the BDC Venture Capital IT fund.

CloudLink made a huge headline in the cloud industry when California-based market research firm Cybersecurity Ventures named CloudLink to its Cybersecurity 500 list of companies to watch. Originally founded as AFORE Solutions in the early 2000s, CloudLink changes its focus from networking services to cloud security services after seeing the huge potential and opportunity waiting for the company in the highly lucrative cloud comptung market.

Under the deal, CloudLink's team will join and lead EMC's cloud security research and development works. CloudLink's CEO Alex Berlin, who will head EMC's cloud security solutions team in Ottawa,Canada, said that CloudLink's new owner EMC has no plans to move the company's operations out of Ottawa. 

An EMC Select Partner since 2013, CloudLink has combined its encryption offerings with EMC's disaster recovery-as-a-service product (DRaaS). 

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