Cloudian Buys Infinity Storage, Plans To Combine Object And File Data Into Single Storage Pool

Cloud-based object storage technology developer Cloudian on Thursday said it has acquired storage startup Infinity Storage as a way to better integrate file and object storage into a scalable storage pool.

Milan, Italy-based Infinity Storage is a pioneer in software-defined file storage management, said Jon Toor, chief marketing officer for San Mateo, Calif.-based Cloudian.

Toor declined to disclose the terms of the acquisition.

[Related: Cloud Cornerstones: 19 New Ways To Connect Storage To AWS]

The two companies have a history together. Infinity Storage provides the technology behind Cloudian's HyperFile, which was introduced in December.

Cloudian HyperFile is the first object storage-based system to include all the features essential for enterprise NAS customers, Toor told CRN, making it suitable for deployment with capacity-intensive applications that employ file data. With Cloudian HyperFile, enterprise customers get limitless scalability at a significantly lower total cost of ownership than traditional NAS systems, he said.

Together, the two are able to provide the ability to manage block and file data as a single pool of storage across on-premises and multi-cloud environments, he said.

Cloudian decided to acquire Infinity Storage in order to have continued access to its technology, Toor said.

"We see file data continue to be important," he said. "There are a lot of Windows and Linux systems out there storing unstructured data as files. And we want to continue having the best technology."

The companies are complementary to each other, Toor said. Cloudian has a focus on object storage, while Infinity Storage is focused on file-based storage. Both companies are enterprise-focused, and are heavily dependent on channel partners. About 85 percent of Cloudian's business in the last quarter came from indirect channels, and that percentage is growing, he said.

One of those channel partners likes the idea of Cloudian purchasing Infinity.

Jon Mendoza, field CTO at Technologent, an Irvine, Calif.-based solution provider and Cloudian channel partner, said he is excited to see Cloudian acquire Infinity.

"This gives Cloudian full control of the Infinity intellectual property," Mendoza told CRN. "We're seeing an explosion in customer data. And especially for our customers, it's getting more and more important to understand the value of that data even as they tier the data and move it. The cloud is important, but the ability to move data to the cloud is just as important."

Cloudian has proven to be a very channel-friendly vendor, Mendoza said. "That's really refreshing for us from a vendor," he said. "I've been looking at talking with Cloudian about new ways to further their technology for my customers. And with Infinity, they can now do more internally."

The integration of Infinity into Cloudian is already under way, and it should be quick given the relationship the two already have, Toor said.

"Infinity Storage has a team in Italy, mostly technologists, maybe a half-a-dozen," he said. "We plan to double that team. And we've already launched HyperFile with Infinity, and have paying customers."