Snap Appliance, the volume-leading brand of network attached storage (NAS) products, will no longer be just a brand name but an independent company as well. Quantum, who owns the brand, announced today it is selling its NAS products business unit for cash and equity to help launch Snap Appliance, Inc.
Along with Quantum’s equity investment, significant funding is being provided by Mellon Ventures, Inc., an affiliate of Mellon Financial Corp., and Moore Capital Management. As part of the transaction, which is expected to close at the end of this month, Snap Appliance, Inc. will also inherit the next-generation scalable, unified storage technology of Broadband Storage Inc., a privately held software company.
Snap Appliance, Inc. will enjoy immediate worldwide leadership in NAS via the successful Snap Server and Guardian product families, which will continue to be purchased through their established distributor and reseller channels. To ensure a seamless transition for customers, Snap Appliance will work closely with Quantum and its channel partners. Core NAS technical and support staff from Quantum will migrate to Snap Appliance, further easing the transition. In addition, the two companies will partner to develop and market next-generation simplified storage and data protection solutions.
“Our ongoing equity share and partnership with Snap Appliance will allow us to work hand-in-hand with a focused networked storage development team on complementary solutions,” said Larry Orecklin, president of Quantum’s Storage Solutions Group.
Snap Appliance will be managed by a team of experienced storage industry leaders, headed by President and CEO Eric Kelly, whose more than 20-year career includes senior-level executive positions at Dell Computer, IBM, Maxtor, and Connor Peripherals.
“With the Snap and Guardian brand products, established distribution channels, and next-generation storage software technology, Snap Appliance is poised to hit the road running as an established industry leader in network storage solutions,” said Kelly. “We’ll also bring to the marketplace the value of a long-term, multi-level strategic alliance with Quantum.”
Snap Appliance will be headquartered in San Jose, Calif., and will also maintain offices in Irvine.