EMC buys data-to-the-cloud storage startup TwinStrata

Data center storage giant EMC gets that more companies want to tap public clouds to store growing piles of data. So it’s been busy designing technology that can bring in revenue while also permitting cloud usage. Now EMC has acquired a startup that’s been working on that goal for years.

EMC announced that its bought TwinStrata in a statement today that spends much more space explaining the release of a new “enterprise data service platform” called VMAX³. TwinStrata’s technology will integrate with the new VMAX³ products by providing “embedded cloud access capabilities,” according to the statement.

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TwinStrata created and sold a physical storage box for on-premises data centers called a CloudArray. Whatever data gets thrown onto gets copied or transported to a public cloud offsite. Supported clouds include Amazon Web Services, Google, Peer1, Rackspace, and SoftLayer. More clouds will become compatible with the technology in the future, EMC said.

Altogether, TwinStrata’s technology can help customers “move infrequently accessed data to the public cloud for lower [total cost of ownership],” EMC said today.

TwinStrata started in 2007 and was based in Natick, Mass. Investors include Avalon Ventures. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Customers include Bit9, Avalon Wesleyan University, Mosaik Solutions, and Westway.

TwinStrata’s technology has proven valuable to plenty of its customers, if you believe today’s letter from co-founder and chief executive Nicos Vekiarides.

“Since the initial development of CloudArray, the TwinStrata team has been committed to helping our customers maximize their resources by changing the economics, scale and agility of their storage environments,” he wrote. “Over the years, I’ve been honored to hear that for hundreds of organizations, our cloud-integrated storage approach has done just that.”

Now the technology lies in EMC’s possession. If things work out right, much more data could get thrown into public clouds now.

TwinStrata competitors like Nasuni could become targets of acquisitions as a result of today’s deal.

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