IBM Acquires Aspera For Fast Data Transfers

IBM has agreed to acquire Aspera, which specialises large file transfer technology.

With this move, IBM is bolstering its big data and cloud computing capabilities by acquiring technology that makes it easier for customer to move large data files to the cloud. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Key Challenge

“Our experience working with thousands of clients on big data projects tells us that companies can better compete and win when they can quickly extract value from massive volumes of data,” said John Mesberg, vice president of B2B and Commerce Solutions at IBM, in a statement. “With this acquisition, IBM addresses a key challenge for globally integrated enterprises by allowing them to move large data files much faster to the individuals who need them, wherever in the world they may be.”

Licensed to clients and partners either in the cloud or on premise, Aspera’s high-speed transfer technology reduces transmission times for large files or data sets by up to 99.9 percent – potentially cutting a 26 hour transfer of a 24 gigabyte file, sent halfway around the world, down to just 30 seconds, IBM said. Aspera’s patented fasp technology overcomes inherent bottlenecks in broadband wide area networks that slow the transfer of extremely large files, such as high-definition video or scientific research files, over distance.

“It makes a lot of sense for IBM to have a product like Aspera’s in their portfolio,” said Lawrence Schwartz, vice president of marketing at IBM partner Attunity, which provides technology similar to that of Aspera, in a statement. “On-premises-to-cloud data transfer is backbreaking work, and solutions like Aspera’s and Attunity’s can improve performance by an order of magnitude. This deal could signal that major big data solution providers are starting to raise the ante in their cloud business units.”

Companies today are struggling to manage increasing volumes of structured and unstructured data created by everything from sensors to social media. They must accelerate the velocity of sending and receiving this data to improve competitiveness in a variety of ways – including the ability to more quickly uncover valuable business insights, bring products to market faster and improve employee productivity. This becomes even more critical with the growing adoption of cloud computing, where companies need a more effective way to transport extremely large files to and from cloud platforms. Aspera moves big data to, from and within the cloud faster than traditional methods while providing security, bandwidth control and predictability.

Big Data

“The Aspera purchase mainly sharpens IBM’s ability to help customers manage and transmit massive data files,” Charles King, principal analyst at Pund-IT, told eWEEK. “There are certainly IBM cloud applications that will profit from the technology, especially those related to big data. Plus the sheer size of the files Aspera’s technologies applies to makes it largely of interest to the enterprise customers IBM’s cloud solutions are targeted toward.”