IBM Confirms the Acquisition of Diligent

IBM has acquired Diligent Technologies, a privately held storage de-duplication technology company headquartered in Framingham, Massachusetts with research and development located in Tel Aviv, Israel. Diligent’s technologies and employees will become part of the IBM System Storage business unit of the IBM Systems and Technology Group. Financial terms were not disclosed.

Diligent develops in-line data de-duplication software that is integrated with server and storage infrastructures to help organizations significantly reduce the amount and cost of physical storage required in data centers. Enterprise and mid-sized organizations are faced with data centers that are reaching a breaking point of complexity and manageability, while at the same time experiencing explosive demands for storage for new data, transactions, email and back-up files.

Data de-duplication is an emerging technology that organizations are investing in today and Diligent’s innovative technology provides a single solution to support data protection, archive and data-retention applications — all while maintaining the integrity of the data.

The Diligent acquisition will be an important part of IBM’s New Enterprise Data Center model, which helps clients improve IT efficiency and facilitates the rapid deployment of new IT services for future business growth. The new model is based on best practices for virtualization, green IT, service management and cloud computing.

Research indicates that organizations are increasingly investing in data de-duplication solutions for e-mail, database and other storage-intensive and mission-critical applications. According to a recent study of 152 Fortune 1000 enterprises by TheInfoPro, 56 percent of those surveyed spent more on data de-duplication in 2007 when compared to 2006, and that increased spending trend is expected to continue in 2008.

For years, IBM has been helping clients manage their information infrastructure with solutions that help address information availability, data retention, and security requirements. The acquisition of Diligent maps to the overall IBM enterprise strategy of developing more efficient, cost effective data centers and will further extend IBM’s industry leading storage portfolio.

Combined with IBM, Diligent’s data de-duplication technology and solutions will:

• address the unique data de-duplication requirements of enterprise clients for maximum in-line performance, scalability and data integrity;
• complement clients’ installed backup/recovery applications (e.g. Tivoli Storage Manager and others);
• reduce the amount of time required to backup and recover information;
• enable the economical electronic transmission of back-up and archive data from primary to remote disaster recovery sites;
• reduce the amount of physical storage required to help reduce costs and energy consumption.

"Diligent’s data de-duplication software is a critical technology that will be integrated into the IBM Storage portfolio to further extend our information infrastructure strategy, allowing our clients to eliminate redundant data and streamline the infrastructure required to support their business — which can result in dramatic improvements in data center efficiency," said Andy Monshaw, general manager, IBM System Storage. "Diligent’s industry-proven data de-duplication offerings are exceptionally suited for mid-range and enterprise clients, uniquely combining in-line performance, scalability and data integrity and extends IBM’s strong portfolio of strategic offerings that will help our clients reduce infrastructure costs, improve energy efficiency in the data center, and enable them to fully utilize their information on demand."

Diligent will become part of the IBM System Storage brand of offerings.

"We are pleased to become a key member of the IBM System Storage family, knowing IBM has the industry’s most comprehensive vision for the future direction of storage and data-protection. Moreover, IBM has the requisite technologies in order to realize that vision. The combination of IBM and Diligent will deliver increased innovation and industry-focused data protection solutions," said Doron Kempel, Chairman and CEO, Diligent. "Our customers will significantly benefit as our talented teams and our storage technology advancements merge with IBM’s innovative research and development group and world-wide reach in sales, service, marketing, manufacturing, and distribution. With IBM, Diligent’s data de-duplication technology has the best opportunity to make a significant impact in the industry, on behalf of the end-users."

This is the third storage related acquisition for IBM in the past few months. In January, IBM formally announced it had acquired Israeli-based XIV to address emerging storage opportunities such as Web 2.0 applications, digital archives and digital media. Earlier this month, IBM announced its intent to acquire FilesX, a leading provider of continuous data protection software for mission-critical applications and remote offices.

IBM has industry recognized leadership in storage and server hardware and software, and has made several strategic storage-related acquisitions recently in addition to XIV and FilesX, including Arsenal, NovusCG, and Softek. Already the industry leader in storage services, IBM continues to grow its storage services offerings and presents customers with strategic solutions to deliver integrated software, storage and server hardware, services and research in standardized offerings that can be used by customers of all sizes to help them transform their businesses.

IBM’s acquisition of Diligent supports the IBM growth strategy and capital allocation model, as part of the company’s overall objective for earnings-per-share growth through 2010.

Diligent Technologies

IBM Corp.