Carbonite Buys Zmanda: PC, Server, Database Backup to the Cloud
Carbonite (NASDAQ: CARB) is buying Zmanda for $14.75 million. It's a heck of a move -- making Carbonite a one-stop shop for SMB channel partners that want to offer mobile, desktop, server, application and database backup to the cloud.
October 18, 2012
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Carbonite (NASDAQ: CARB) is buying Zmanda for $14.75 million. It’s a heck of a move — making Carbonite a one-stop shop for SMB channel partners that want to offer mobile, desktop, server, application and database backup to the cloud. Carbonite CEO David Friend (pictured) and Channel Chief David Hauser explained the strategy to The VAR Guy this evening. Here’s the background.Simply stated:
Carbonite offers cloud-based PC and notebook backup that protects 300 million new files daily. The system also gains a petabyte of storage every week.
Perhaps best known to consumers, Carbonite’s small business channel partner program has been growth mode (see FastChat Video, below right).
Zmanda, which has 25 employees, offers cloud- and on-premises server and database backup and recovery, and has a big open source following. Carbonite will retain Zmanda’s team and run the organization as a separate company.
With those specialties in mind, Carbonite and Zmanda will be able to empower VARs that want to offer PC, notebook, server and application-level backup to the cloud, the companies say.
Note: Zmanda also has a disaster recovery service that links to Amazon Simple Storage Service and Google Cloud Storage. The VAR Guy is checking Carbonite’s potential plans for that particular solution.
[youtube width=”350″ height=”252″]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W78790Ywjp0[/youtube]In the meantime, Carbonite offered these thoughts. “The strategic fit is clear,” said Friend. “We have a thriving business in the reseller channel for PC backup. But until this acquisition, we didn’t have a really good answer for Exchange Server, SQL Server and Oracle [database backup]. A lot of our partners want to cover all the bases when it comes to online backup. This [the Zmanda acquisition] plugs a hole in our product line.”
Friend also applauds Zmanda’s open source heritage. “It’s a big plus” because the open source community has built a great storage engine (Amanda), which Zmanda has further enhanced for its channel partners and customers, Friend noted.
Carbonite’s channel team is also celebrating the deal. Hauser: “I’m delighted. I couldn’t be more ecstatic. When you look at the functions and capabilities [of Carbonite and Zmanda] we’re empowering partners.”
Carbonite expects the deal to close in Q4 2012.
The backup and recovery market, meanwhile, is in transition mode. It’s both growing (in terms of revenues) and consolidating (through M&A deals). Also this week, Microsoft purchased StorSimple and Persistent Systems purchased Doyenz.
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