Microsoft chief executive Satya Nadella was formerly Microsoft's head of cloud and enterprise group. Recent purchases by the company make that clear.
Since he took over in 2014, Microsoft bought cloud monitoring startup Cloudyn and the development team behind Deis. Microsoft took another leap into improving their cloud software by acquiring hybrid tech storage company Avere Systems.
Heads In The Cloud
Microsoft cited the importance of cloud computing in the current economy for the reason to keep up with cloud technology. It signed an agreement to acquire Avere System, a Pittsburgh-based hybrid tech storage company.
Avere Systems is a leading provider of high-performance NFS and SMB file-based storage for Linux and Windows clients in the cloud, hybrid, and on-premises environments. Avere was founded in 2008 and raised $97 million in investment. Last year, Google invested $14 million during Series E funding.
This move could allow Microsoft to keep data-transfer in-house, increasing the speed of the transfer. It could also offer greater privacy since it would all be handled by one company.
Amazon Web Services and Google's Cloud Platform are also partners with Avere Systems. A spokesperson from Microsoft said that the company will continue to support third-party cloud partners.
Microsoft hopes that Avere's expertise will be able to improve on their cloud storage system, Microsoft Azure.
Storage Wars
Cloud storage faces a great deal of competition. The leader in the cloud storage market is Amazon, offering the best deals for file storage. Microsoft offers OneDrive and hopes to beef up Azure with its purchase of Avere.
It's curious that Microsoft will continue to support rivals Amazon and Google's service after the acquisition of Avere. CNBC suggests that the move could better serve Azure customers who want to use cloud computing but want to keep data in their facilities.
Avere previously stated it would have tools to assist with Azure but primarily advertised its services with Amazon and Google clouds. Google's investment into Avere was rare, as it was a direct investment into a company. Google's parent company, Alphabet, usually makes investments through its own venture capital companies such as GV.
This move is also beneficial in bringing more big-name companies into contact with Microsoft. Companies that are being served by Avere include Sony Pictures Imageworks, the Library of Congress, John Hopkins University, Moving Picture Company, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Office of Infectious Diseases, Turner Broadcasting, and animation studio Illumination Mac Guff.
