IBM swallows Tel Aviv storage firm

Buys privately-held XIV

By Kelly Fiveash • Get more from this author

Posted in Storage, 2nd January 2008 16:08 GMT

Computer giant IBM said today that it has acquired Israel-based storage firm XIV for an undisclosed sum.

The buy-out of the privately held company, which has around 40 staff working at its office in Tel Aviv, is the latest in a series of acquisitions IBM has made in recent months as part of a long-term strategy to help give the firm a leg-up in the expanding storage market.

An IBM spokesman told The Register that while the XIV acquisition was smaller than some of its other purchases, he reckoned that the latest take-over demonstrated the firm's willingness to "stretch outside of the boundaries of IBM to see how we can collaborate with others to bring in new ideas and technologies."

He added that beefing up IBM's storage portfolio was a key strategy for the firm over the next few years.

He remained tight-lipped on the costs involved with the deal, but Israeli media reported that the firm was paying $300m to $350m for XIV.

IBM was also keeping quiet on when it planned to announce roadmaps for integrating its new buys with the firm's storage biz.

IBM has recently been on a storage spending spree in which it has bought Softek, Filenet and NovusCG, and just last month it acquired Arsenal Digital Solutions.

"What we're doing is we're putting a stamp on it to say, look, we've acquired XIV, we're going after these markets, watch this space," said the spokesman. ®

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