Dell buys AppAssure to boost cloud services

Grazed from CBSNews.  Author: Editorial Staff.

Computer maker Dell Inc. said Friday it bought AppAssure, a company that specializes in remote data storage and computing, as part of Dell’s strategy to press into the field of Internet-based systems known as cloud computing.

Dell did not disclose financial terms of the deal…

Computer makes like Apple Inc. are increasingly offering cloud computing services, which give customers remote access to big data storage and processing centers. Cloud services let laptops and personal computers run with far more memory and computing horsepower than is built into their hard drives.

Dell said it has been working for three years to expand its cloud storage offerings. AppAssure specializes in securing and backing up data that is stored in the cloud. Dell said the company’s technology will make consumers more confident in using Dell’s cloud services. AppAssure’s technology not only backs up data, but backs up applications as well.

AppAssure was founded in 2006 and is based in Reston, Va. Bain Capital Ventures is the top institutional investor in AppAssure. The rest of the company is employee-owned. Dell said it will keep AppAssure’s roughly 230 employees.

The deal came a few days after Dell reported an 18-percent drop in fourth-quarter profit, in part because of a loss of customers to Apple. The company also said it expects revenue in the current quarter to fall about 7 percent from the fourth quarter.

Shares of Dell rose 20 cents, to $17.59 in morning trading.