Pictured: HP StorageWorks’ Dave Roberson
HP is to acquire storage virtualisation firm LeftHand Networks for $380m, subject to certain price adjustment conditions.
LeftHand Networks’ software is targeted mainly at mid-sized companies or branches of large corporations, and uses the popular iSCSI storage area network (SAN) protocol to consolidate data into remote data centre storage arrays, allowing data to be transferred quickly between hosts if one goes down.
LeftHand says its software is ideal for backup and recovery operations because it offers data replication, bandwidth management and failover protection.
Dave Roberson, senior vice president at HP StorageWorks in the UK, noted: “Customers need a faster, less complex and more economical route to storage networking to better protect their critical business data. The acquisition of LeftHand Networks significantly expands our storage portfolio, enabling HP to deliver an expanded suite of storage functionality, scalable capacity and interconnect options for every budget and performance requirement.”
LeftHand Networks recently announced its eighth generation of SAN/iQ storage software designed to simplify the management of virtualisation infrastructures. The software contains technologies such as thin provisioning and linked clones to reduce storage requirements and power consumption.
If the final conditions are accepted, LeftHand Networks’ portfolio will head HP’s mid-range suite of iSCSI solutions, building on HP StorageWorks’ All-in-One Storage system and Modular Smart Array offerings that target the low end of the market and the StorageWorks Enterprise Virtual Array line that targets the high end.
LeftHand Networks is an established partner of HP’s, already offering certified solutions that work with HP products, including HP ProLiant servers and HP BladeSystem infrastructure.
The firm has over 11,000 installations across 3,000 customers worldwide. The transaction is expected to close in HP’s first fiscal quarter of 2009.
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