IBM swallows Cleversafe in cloud push

Big Blue makes second acquisition in a week

IBM has snapped up cloud storage player Cleversafe in what is its second acquisition in a week.

Cleversafe is a Chicago-headquartered firm employing more than 200 staff, specialising in object-based storage and hybrid cloud. The company was established in 2004 and has more than 350 patents in object-based, on-premise storage solutions.

Upon completion of the deal, Cleversafe will be integrated into the IBM Cloud business unit. Terms of the deal were not disclosed and completion is subject to certain regulatory approval.

Last week, IBM acquired Workday services provider partner Metoerix, making the Cleversafe buy its second in just seven days.

Cleversafe has dabbled in the UK channel in the past and was one of the flagship vendor partners of now-defunct distie Channelfusion.

IBM's senior vice president for IBM Cloud Robert LeBlanc said Cleversafe's offering is extremely valuable at the moment.

"Today a massive digital transformation is under way as organisations increasingly turn to cloud computing for innovative ways to manage more complex business operations and increasing volumes of data in a secure and effective way," he said

"Cleversafe, a pioneer in object storage, will add to our efforts to help clients overcome these challenges by extending and strengthening our cloud storage strategy, as well as our portfolio."

IBM said the deal underscores its continued commitment to data storage across flash, software-defined and cloud.