Veeam Acquired Object First

The acquisition of Object First Inc. by Veeam Software comes as little surprise. In many ways, it feels both logical and inevitable.

Neither Veeam nor Object First has issued a formal announcement such as a press release or an official blog post. The only confirmation so far comes from a community article published on Veeam’s website, which explicitly acknowledges the acquisition. Beyond that, no further public communication has been shared.

Given the close relationship between the two companies, this move was largely anticipated. Understanding the origins and trajectories of both Veeam and Object First makes the acquisition appear almost natural. Object First’s offering was designed specifically for Veeam environments, so industry observers are unlikely to be shocked by this development.

What remains unclear, however, is whether this transaction has triggered any strategic divergence within the management team. Notably, Niraj Tolia, former CTO who joined following the Alcion acquisition only a few months ago, recently announced a transition to a strategic advisor role. While this may be unrelated, the timing inevitably raises questions.

As expected, no financial details about the transaction have been disclosed.

More broadly, this acquisition reinforces an ongoing trend: the secondary storage market dedicated to backup continues to be reshaped by backup software vendors choosing to deliver their own integrated platforms. Past and present examples include Veritas NetBackup appliances, Cohesity, Rubrik, and Commvault following its acquisition of Hedvig or Arcserve with Storagecraft/Exablox. Many of them are listed in Gartner, IDC, Forrester reports or in the last Coldago Map 2025 for Modern Data Protection. At the same time, independent backup appliance vendors continue to evolve on their own paths. Companies such as ExaGrid, Quantum, HPE, Huawei, Spectra Logic, or the small French player Oxibox have all demonstrated solid adoption. During the 65th edition of The IT Press Tour, last December, we also observed 9LivesData offering a fully compatible alternative to NEC Hydrastor or Plakar who adopts the first model with a backup layer coupled with its own target named Kloset, a portable data container.

Veeam’s move will likely impact more generic backup targets based on NAS and/or S3-compatible object storage. It also illustrates a clear asymmetry in the market: target vendors rarely acquire backup software, whereas backup software vendors increasingly integrate hardware or storage software into their portfolios.

This acquisition validates the combined model of backup software plus a tightly integrated backup target. At the same time, it introduces potential friction with Veeam’s strong channel ecosystem. Veeam appears to be addressing this concern by keeping Object First as a separate entity, at least for now.

Several questions remain open. Will Object First eventually be offered as a pure software solution? If so, will it be sold directly by Veeam? Could a cloud-based version also emerge?

For customers currently using Veeam with alternative backup targets, this acquisition may signal deeper integration and preferential treatment for Object First over time. From a business standpoint, revenue consolidation clearly favors Veeam. Having acquired Object First, it would make little sense for Veeam to actively promote competing targets. Instead, this move enables organic revenue growth through increased solution attachment rates, supported by targeted programs and incentives shared with common channel partners.