Quantum buys into mid-market storage space

Quantum ATL, a manufacturer of automated tape libraries for data storage, is this week finalising a deal to bridge the gap in its mid-market storage portfolio.

Quantum ATL, a manufacturer of automated tape libraries for data storage, is this week finalising a deal to bridge the gap in its mid-market storage portfolio.

The US-based firm will acquire M4 Data, a mid-range tape manufacturer based in the UK. The move is part of Quantum's attempt to gain a higher share of the automated tape market, and the vendor intends to integrate M4's technology with its own.

Kevin Daly, chief executive at Quantum, said: "We have been working with M4 for about eight months now, developing new mid- to high-density products which we hope will be used by internet service providers and application service providers."

Daly confirmed that no jobs will be lost, and said that new products will be launched this quarter. The M1500 tape library, a scalable product from two drives and 20 cartridges to 20 drives and 200 cartridges, is due to be released this month.

Dr Duke Ebenezer, chief executive at M4, reinforced the channel perspective of the company. "The agreement between ourselves and Quantum will allow the reseller channel a much broader product range to make margin on. Our products are ideal for resellers. Because of the scalability of them, customers will keep coming back as their data storage requirement grows."

First published in Computer Reseller News