Cloud Computing: EMC Buys Syncplicity
May 25, 2012
EMC has bought cloud storage start-up Syncplicity, which, as one might suspect from its name, does one-click file syncing and sharing as well as real-time backup.
Users are supposed to be able to access, manage and share files across PCs, Macs, mobile platforms and file servers like SharePoint, corporate networks and cloud applications like Google Docs and SalesForce without moving a file.
The enterprise can delete files from user accounts or revoke access, offering a way for companies to deal with the BYOD wave.
EMC means to develop an enterprise version of the stuff tied to Documentum and other repositories like SharePoint spiffed up with corporate governance. It also means to retain Syncplicity’s free and Dropbox-like consumer model and aim it at units inside the enterprise and SMBs…
The pair evidently thinks the Fortune 500 has yet to standardize on early cloud file sync, share and collaboration solutions across their firms as the new way of doing business and that they will be able to close the gap with Dropbox.
In a blog Syncplicity said, "There is vast interest and demand, with a lot of experimentation, but real enterprise-wide adoption is still in its earliest stages because having a secure, enterprise grade solution matters. And it matters to everyone, from the largest enterprises to SMBs and individuals."
EMC already has Mozy online backup and VMware is beta-testing a corporate file-sharing service dubbed Project Octopus.
EMC didn’t say what it’s paying for the four-year-old Menlo Park, California start-up, which kicked off with a $2.35 million A round largely from True Ventures when it began, according to CrunchBase, though that reportedly wasn’t the only investment it saw.
It will be run as an intact wholly owned subsidiary. It claims 25,000 businesses and individual users worldwide.