VMware to acquire disaster recovery specialist Datrium

VMware building with arched glass front

VMware has announced its plans to acquire disaster recovery as a service provider Datrium, in a bid to expand its current VMware Site Recovery portfolio.

VMWare is hoping that by combining Datrium’s DRaaS solutions with their VMWare Cloud operations, the partnership will help customers build hybrid clouds while making business continuity more affordable.

Once the deal is implemented, Datrium’s DRaaS will contribute to VMWare products by providing “a cost-optimised option”. Datrium’s 220-strong staff is to join VMWare and “bring (...) deep experience in storage, virtualization, data protection, and cloud technologies”, according to a VMware statement released on Wednesday.

Prior to the acquisition, Datrium was a VMware partner offering an end-to-end disaster recovery service with VMware Cloud on AWS.

VMWare justified the purchase with a reference to a recent IDC forecast that found that DRaaS was the fastest-growing segment for data protection use cases, with an estimated market value of $4.5bn, at 15% CAGR.

In a blog post detailing the acquisition, John Gilmartin, VP and general manager of the SDDC Suite Business Unit at VMware, said that the company is looking forward “to integrating the Datrium product into our VMware Cloud portfolio to offer an operator-friendly architecture consistent with cloud user expectations”.

Datrium CEO Tim Page confirmed the news, saying that he is “excited to announce that Datrium has entered into a definitive agreement to be acquired by VMware”.

“By joining forces with VMware, we’ll be able to accelerate our roadmap plans to support all the major cloud platforms, work with a broader partner community, including more than 4,400 members of the VMware Cloud Provider Program, and deliver more innovation faster,” he said.

Page also added that, although the acquisition “has been approved by both companies’ Boards”, it will still be “potentially subject to certain regulatory approvals”.

Datrium is the latest in a recent series of acquisitions made by VMWare. In May, the company announced plans to acquire specialist Kubernetes company Octarine, following the firm’s decision to snap up Carbon Black seven months prior.

Only weeks later, it also acquired threat detection company Lastline for an undisclosed amount. The purchase negatively affected Lastline’s staff, resulting in approximately 40% of the workforce (roughly 50 employees) being axed as part of the acquisition, according to TechCrunch.

Sabina Weston

Having only graduated from City University in 2019, Sabina has already demonstrated her abilities as a keen writer and effective journalist. Currently a content writer for Drapers, Sabina spent a number of years writing for ITPro, specialising in networking and telecommunications, as well as charting the efforts of technology companies to improve their inclusion and diversity strategies, a topic close to her heart.

Sabina has also held a number of editorial roles at Harper's Bazaar, Cube Collective, and HighClouds.