Imation Buys ProStor

Imation Corp. has acquired the assets of ProStor Systems, including the InfiniVault tiered storage system and other related technologies.

Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Imation intends to retain approximately 15 employees in Boulder, Colo., focused in engineering, support, sales and marketing.

"The acquisition of ProStor’s assets is another step toward our growth strategy as a trusted technology leader in Secure and Scalable Storage solutions," said Mark Lucas, Imation president and chief executive officer. "Imation acquired the InfiniVault technology and product line because we recognize the need to add a compelling tiered storage architecture to our existing portfolio of backup and archiving products."

InfiniVault is a tiered storage system designed to balance the needs of managing increasing amounts of information over extended periods of time. The InfiniVault system combines multiple media options, including fixed RAID disk and RDX removable hard disk drives in a single storage environment to retrieve, retain, protect and archive digital content. The InfiniVault software will enable Imation to deliver future tiered storage solutions using RDX and other hard disk, optical, magnetic and solid state storage. The software helps strengthen the Imation RDX portfolio and the InfiniVault offering.

"There is a rapidly growing demand among mid-sized companies for tiered solutions that store, protect and archive information. This acquisition by Imation of the InfiniVault technology demonstrates Imation’s commitment to innovative next-generation tiered storage solutions," said Benjamin S. Woo, IDC program vice president, worldwide storage systems. "With the ProStor InfiniVault technology, Imation is able to develop solutions and provide a complete line of media, tape systems and software to round out its storage portfolio."

InfiniVault system customer benefits include data protection, continuous data access, security and retention management throughout the data’s extended lifespan. The system is available through a national network of channel partners and value-added distributors, including Carahsoft Technology, Cranel Imaging, JB&A Distribution, NewWave Technologies, Promark Technology, Rorke Data and Storageflex.

"We are extremely pleased to have Imation’s commitment, technical resources and worldwide sales and distribution and support infrastructure backing the InfiniVault solution," said Timothy Hanscom, vice president of sales, Rorke Data healthcare division. "Imation’s focus on secure storage, backup and archiving solutions is perfectly aligned with the needs of our customers, particularly in the medical market, where secure and efficient retention of data and images are critical."

"Cranel is pleased with Imation’s decision to acquire the InfiniVault storage solution," said Craig Wallace, president, Cranel, Inc. "InfiniVault offers a unique, innovative architecture for intelligent, scalable enterprise content management. As a technology solutions distributor, we have invested significant resources in the development of an expansive network of Value Added Resellers committed to the implementation of this technology. Imation’s channel focus is well-aligned with Cranel and our resellers. We look forward to significant growth together."

Comments

That's the end for ProStor, a start-up born in May 2004 and based in Boulder, CO, with total funding of $23.4 million coming from investors NEA, Sutter Hill Ventures, Boulder Ventures, Sequel Ventures, Western Technology Investors, and Silicon Valley Bank.

The company innovated with RDX, a technology based on secure removable 2.5-inch HDDs to replace tapes, and then, since October 2007, building Infinivault archiving systems using RDX and disk arrays with its own software.

Remember that Tandberg acquired ProStor RDX business last May. Imation is now buying the assets of what remains at ProStor: InfiniVault. It's a small activity (last March ProStor claims 200 InfiniVault customers) and a new one for Imation that will probably continue to use and extend the ProStor's channel with 250 partners rather than its own distribution partners mainly involved in computer media and that will need a lot of education to resell the storage subsystem.

Infinivault is partly using RDX and Imation will be obliged to pay royalties to Tandberg for one of InfiniVault components: the removable HDDs. Imation, that sells RDX products, is already a licensee of Tandberg after working with ProStor. The European company has also built its own subsystems based with RDX.

It's not a bad acquisition for Imation, but not a big one and probably at a price (not revealed) under $10 million, like two former ones this year, encryptX and MXI Security in data security. It will not drastically push the company ahead and will not compensate the decrease of its revenues in tapes or optical discs. Imation needs a more spectacular acquisition to come back to growth but does not have enough cash to do it.

HP veteran Frank Harbist, CEO of ProStor since last January 2009, has apparently accomplished his mission: to sell all the assets of the company. He succeeded founder, president and CEO Steve Georgis (co-founder of Exabyte), now with the same two positions at LineRate Systems in computer networking industry.