IBM Acquires Cleversafe, A Hybrid Cloud Storage Provider

IBM buys Chicago-based Cleversafe to accelerate hybrid cloud strategy.

IBM on Tuesday announced plans to acquire Chicago-based Cleversafe, a provider of hybrid or object-based storage software. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. IBM plans to integrate Cleversafe’s technology into its IBM Cloud business unit to provide customers with data flexibility, simplified management and hybrid cloud deployment.

The deal will strengthen IBM’s positions in storage and hybrid cloud, and support the company’s ongoing effort to drive its customers to mobile, social and analytics applications. It will also provide IBM the ability to tackle unstructured data challenges with object-based storage solutions for on-prem and hybrid cloud.

Founded in 2004 and headquartered in Chicago, Cleversafe is a privately-held hybrid storage vendor. Cleversafe has been recognized as a market leader in IDC MarketScape: Worldwide Object-Based Storage 2014 Vendor Assessment report. The company has over 350 patents in object-based on-premise storage solutions that enable users to scale to exabytes of storage. Companies across multiple industries rely on Cleversafe’s technology for large-scale content repository, backup solutions and storage as a service. 

Robert LeBlanc, senior vice president of IBM Cloud, said in a statement: "Today a massive digital transformation is underway as organizations increasingly turn to cloud computing for innovative ways to manage more complex business operations and increasing volumes of data in a secure and effective way",  and added that: "Cleversafe, a pioneer in object storage, will add to our efforts to help clients overcome these challenges by extending and strengthening our cloud storage strategy, as well as our portfolio."

IBM has made significant acquisitions these past few months. This year alone, the company has made six acquisitions to boost its portfolio of applications, systems and services IBM delivers to its customers. Last week, it acquired Meteorix, a Workday consulting firm. And last month, it bought StrongLoop, a Node.js specialist. In July, IBM acquired Compose, a privately-held company that provides database-as-a-service (DBaaS) offerings targeted at Web and mobile app developers. In July, IBM snatched Blue Box Group, a managed cloud provider. In April, IBM made two-pronged strikes, acquiring two companies- Explorys and Phytel, to enhance IBM’s Watson Health unit and analytics capabilities. And in March, it acquired AlchemyAPI, an API services and deep learning technology provider.

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