Microsoft announced on Wednesday that it acquired Avere Systems, a start-up specialized in data storage. The technology could ultimately help Microsoft get more revenue from Azure by serving customers who want to use cloud computing while keeping data in their own facilities.
Terms of the deal were not disclosed.
Avere offers hardware to store data in data centers, but the acquisition seems more about strengthening and increasing the use of the Microsoft Azure public cloud. The technology allows companies to use remote computing resources while keeping their data in place, and can facilitate the migration of data to public clouds as well.
Avere offers tools to work with the two main competitors of the Microsoft cloud, Amazon Web Services and Google Cloud Platform. Avere said he would bring his tools to Azure in 2015, but today the company's website primarily announces its integrations with the clouds from Amazon and Google.
"We are excited to welcome Avere to Microsoft, and look forward to the impact their technology and equipment will have on Azure and the customer experience," Jason Zander, corporate vice president of Azure at Microsoft, wrote in a blog post.
In general, Microsoft has adopted a more hybrid approach than Amazon or Google in the cloud business. It offers the Azure Stack private cloud software that reflects what is available in the Azure public cloud. And Microsoft continues to sell server and database software for corporate data centers.
"Over the years, Microsoft has made significant investments to offer its customers the most flexible, secure and scalable storage solutions in the market and has made Azure the natural home for enterprise applications." This shared approach in large enterprise applications means that Microsoft fits Avere, "Avere CEO Ron Bianchini, former vice president of storage hardware company NetApp, wrote in a blog post.
Google, Alphabet's main business unit, made a rare direct investment in Avere last year. (Most of the investments in Alphabet come from their risk arms). Other investors include Western Digital Capital, Menlo Ventures, Norwest Venture Partners, Lightspeed Venture Partners and Tenaya Capital. In total, Avere raised $ 97 million.
Avere was founded in 2008 and is headquartered in Pittsburgh. His clients include Johns Hopkins University, Sony Pictures Imageworks and the Library of Congress.
