EMC has acquired the assets of intelligent storage switch maker Maranti Networks, further thinning the ranks of intelligent storage start-ups.
A Maranti spokesperson confirmed last month that the company was seeking a buyer and would not seek additional funding.
The acquisition reduces the ranks of intelligent storage switch start-ups to just two — Troika and MaXXan. Candera and Sandial have folded, and Pirus, Rhapsody and Sanera have been acquired.
EMC spokesman Dave Farmer wouldn’t reveal the company’s plans for Maranti’s technology, but analysts speculated that it could wind up in EMC’s Invista virtualization product.
Still, Farmer stressed that EMC has no plans to enter the storage switch space, a market dominated by Cisco, Brocade and EMC offspring McData.
“We have no intention of getting into the switch business,” Farmer said.
Intelligent storage start-ups have faced tough going as they try to compete against each other and more established players have entered the fray. Maranti raised $57 million in three funding rounds before announcing it would not seek a fourth round.