Pure Storage to Acquire Portworx for $370 Million in Cash

In Kubernetes data services platform for cloud native applications

This is a Press Release edited by StorageNewsletter.com on September 18, 2020 at 2:13 pm

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Pure Storage, Inc. entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Portworx, Inc., designing a Kubernetes data services platform enterprises trust to run mission-critical applications in containers in production, for approximately $370 million in cash.

This deal represents Pure’s largest acquisition to date and the company’s expansion into the growing market for multi-cloud data services to support Kubernetes and containers.

“As forward-thinking enterprises adopt cloud native strategies to advance their business, we are thrilled to have the Portworx team and their groundbreaking technology joining us at Pure to expand our success in delivering multi-cloud data services for Kubernetes,” said Charles Giancarlo, Chairman and CEO, Pure. “This acquisition marks a significant milestone in expanding our Modern Data Experience to cover traditional and cloud native applications alike.”

Portworx is the Kubernetes Data Services Platform most used by Global 2000 companies to provide persistent storage, high availability, data protection, data security, and cloud mobility for containers deployed in hybrid cloud architectures. By combining Portworx container data services with its data platforms and its Service Orchestrator software, Pure will provide a suite of data services that can be deployed in-cloud, on bare metal, or on enterprise arrays, all natively orchestrated in Kubernetes. With Portworx, Pure delivers a complete platform for every stage of the cloud native journey.

Digital leaders are increasingly turning to the cloud native stack to process data into value and insight. Today, 95% of new applications are developed in containers according to 451 Research. By 2025, Gartner predicts that 85% of global businesses will be running containers in production, up from 35% in 2019. Yet, as cloud native scales, traditional and cloud-based storage can struggle to keep-up with the fluid nature of micro-service applications deployed in containers, making data resiliency, mobility, security, backup, and recovery a challenge, especially in multi-cloud deployments. Cloud native applications deserve a storage services platform purpose-built to address these challenges. Together, Portworx and Pure deliver this now.

“I’m tremendously proud of what we’ve built at Portworx: an unparalleled data services platform for customers running mission-critical applications in hybrid and multi-cloud environments. The traction and growth we see in our business daily shows that containers and Kubernetes are fundamental to the next-generation application architecture and thus competitiveness,” said Murli Thirumale, CEO, Portworx. “We are excited for the accelerated growth and customer impact we will be able to achieve as a part of Pure.”

“As a leader in multi-cloud and on-premise log management solutions, data is at the heart of our business,” said Tucker Callaway, CEO, LogDNA. “We work with Portworx because they provide the market-leading Kubernetes data services platform that allows us to offer the same fast, reliable, protected, and secure logging solutions to our customers, no matter where they decide to run their applications. We can see the power of this combination and look forward to many more years of sustained data-driven innovation from Pure Storage and Portworx.”

“Esri’s ArcGIS software delivers location intelligence for some of the world’s most pressing problems including Covid-19 tracking, fire mapping and disaster management,” said Brian Cross, director of professional services, Esri. “We are proud to have worked with Portworx to implement cutting-edge cloud native storage technologies allowing our customers to solve these types of geo-spatial problems at massive scales. Portworx is a key partner for Esri as we develop and release our next generation of Kubernetes-based real-time capabilities, and we look forward to continuing our work together as it evolves with Pure Storage.”

“In 2019 we evaluated Kubernetes storage platforms for one of our services and after thorough research we decided on Portworx,” said Sven Sonnendorfer, community manager, Audi Business Innovation GmbH, a 100% subsidiary of Audi AG who provide cloud services to VW Group members. “The improved performance compared to the standard Kubernetes storage provider, the included features, reliable operations and upgrades and the great support demonstrate that this was the right decision. Portworx saves us time and money by providing more reliable tooling to our customers.”

Resources:
• Pure Storage CEO blog
• Pure Storage Welcomes Portworx Blog
• Portworx blog
• FAQ

Comments

This merger is a big news for Pure Storage, Portworx and for the market as it shakes some positions. It could be seen as a deal between two market leaders, both orange by the way.

The first feeling we have is related to their nature with several similarities and being players targeting enterprise-class projects and business.

The deal shows a very good ratio of 6.66 between the amount of the purchase made by Pure, $370M all in cash, and the total raised of $55.5M by Portworx. If we consider all deals we track since January 1st, it is the one with the best ratio even if some of them are completely opaque and other saved companies just before the cliff. We also remember Commvault / Hedvig deal with a multiple of 4.32. It represents as well the third acquisition operated by Pure following StorReduce in 2018 and Compuverde in 2019 for a total less than $500M.

This move feeds Pure’s Modern Data Experience mantra to provide SaaS in a multi cloud world. It means to deliver all-flash multi-tier storage for cloud-native applications, bring IT agility to support and boost the business, enable data consumption and processing where they reside or bring compute to data when it’s needed. It will help the firm to compete seriously vs. another leader in that category Red Hat OpenShift, leader because it's Red Hat and because it's also a pure software approach. OpenShift came from the acquisition of Makara in 2010 by Red Hat. We have to mention as well the recent aquisition of Rancher Labs by the second Linux giant SuSe.

By essence, Pure is an on-prem vendor with extensions in the cloud. It offers data agility but this move adds a new dimension: application agility, closing the loop of the enterprise key requirement. In other words an application without data is useless, data with application as well and now data and applications can follow each other's moves.

Historically, Pure jumped early into the container wave and has adopted Kubernetes as the preferred de facto cloud native applications orchestrator. Following the evolution and adoption of the Kubernetes-based model, the company has first developed FlexVolume, then a CSI driver and finally Pure Service Orchestrator continuing to enrich their offering. Having done this, it marked progress but was seen as a feature and only a tactical response and above all produced by a vendor who essentially sells hardware. Thus a more comprehensive approach is needed, expected by users, purely software and independent of everything except Kubernetes, that delivers real new levels of data services in these new ubiquitous applications environments. Data services is the new realm for Kubernetes serving as the minimum barrier or the standard reducing complexity and cost and embracing heterogeneity at various levels. Met several times, we measured and felt that something is happening with Portworx understanding the Kubernetes trend like no others.

Seen as a technology company, Portworx will continue to exist under the Pure umbrella with the Cloud Native Business Unit led by Murli Thirumale as VP and GM.

With this acquisition, Pure raises the bar for its installed base and its FlashArray and FlashBlade line, but also for its cloud-based model.

We’ll see how Pure competition will react but it should trigger some moves. And the list of prey is significant with Diamanti, MayaData, StorageOS, Arrikto, Storidge or Robin.IO among others.

Portworx is the third acquisition of Pure after StorReduce, in de-dupe software, in 2018, and Swedish Compuverde, in file software solutions for enterprises and cloud providers based in Sweden, in 2019 for $60 million.

Concerning Kubernetes, there were two acquisitions this year, Containership by Hitachi Vantara, and Rancher Labs by Suse.

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