ShareFile Purchase Moves Citrix Into Storage Cloud

Virtualisation software provider Citrix Systems moved into the storage-control realm with the acquisition of ShareFile, a provider of secure, cloud-based data storage, sharing and collaboration software. The companies did not disclose terms of the deal.

ShareFile software, which uses a centralised control panel, is designed to simplify the secure storage, synchronisation and sharing of business documents and files, both inside and outside the company. It also allows users to share files across multiple devices and access them from any location. Citrix will integrate the product into a new cloud service called “Follow-Me Data”.

Experienced Crew Coming Aboard

ShareFile will fill what was a major gap in Citrix’s cloud data strategy and brings to the company a development team with much experience in data services and cloud computing. ShareFile CEO Jesse Lipson will become vice president and general manager of the newly formed Data Sharing product group at Citrix. This group will be responsible for the ShareFile product line in addition to enabling the Citrix Follow-Me-Data strategy.

“This is a highly strategic acquisition that enables Citrix to deliver all three of the critical components for the personal cloud – collaboration, apps and data – with amazing accessibility and productivity on any device,” Citrix president and CEO Mark Templeton said.

“Our Follow-Me-Data strategy means files will be shared across people, across apps, and across devices. As customers and partners build on this platform, they will be able to easily add Follow-Me-Data services to their software, leverage the data that other apps store there, and instantly inherit all the management, mobility and scalability that’s in the ShareFile infrastructure,” he added.

Using ShareFile’s storage and data-movement control package as the front end for its new platform, Citrix now will be able to:

• Make common data services like search, share, sync, secure, authenticate, open and preview available to a wide range of applications, services and use cases through a set of open APIs
• Extend secure data sharing services to new and existing apps, stored in public and private clouds, and accessed from millions of different business and consumer devices
• Connect data seamlessly into the way people collaborate today, ensuring that the right documents and files are always accessible when needed, and always up to date

Citrix said it will reveal more of its plans for ShareFile and the new data platform at Citrix Synergy in Barcelona on 26-28 October.