Quantum extends virtualization opportunities with Pancetera acquisition

Combining technologies will provide solutions for more efficient and cost-effective data protection and management in virtual environments

Backup, recovery, and archive specialist Quantum is adding a new specialized software solution to help with data protection for virtual machines in its DXi and StorNext product lines.

To do that, the company reported it is buying virtual machine backup specialist Pancetera for $12 million. With all of the high-priced acquisitions taking place right now across the IT industry, $12 million may not sound like a lot of money. In fact, it may seem like even less after you realize the acquisition isn't a pure cash transaction -- instead, Quantum is only paying $8.4 million in cash and $3.6 million in Quantum common stock (approximately 1.2 million shares) to acquire the virtual storage optimization startup.

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Quantum is putting together a complete package for data protection and recovery. With the acquisition, it's gaining a Linux virtual appliance that can help reduce the impact of management tasks in virtual environments across backup, replication, archiving, security scanning, data loss prevention (DLP), and WAN mobility. Pancetera claims its appliance can also help reduce storage I/O load by as much as 80 percent and provides more efficient use of existing storage. It also lets system administrators browse, move, and copy VM files as easily as browsing a Windows network drive within a single, unified console across hypervisors and data stores.

Jon Gacek, CEO of Quantum said, "Together with our DXi deduplication and replication appliances, Pancetera's technology allows Quantum to offer higher performance, easier-to-use, and more cost-effective solutions for managing and protecting data in virtual environments."

While virtualization provides significant flexibility and economic benefits, it also introduces a number of challenges in data storage, across both primary storage as well as backup. And according to a survey conducted by Quantum last year, four out of five IT managers reported difficulties with backing up virtualized environments. That's an alarming number and should signify a major need for a solution.