HP snaps up LeftHand Networks

HP is splashing out $360 million (204 million) to acquire storage virtualisation and iSCSI SAN specialist LeftHand Networks.

The deal mirrors the move made by Dell last year when it acquired EqualLogic to strengthen its own storage arsenal.

Once the acquisition is completed tipped for the first fiscal quarter of 2009 LeftHand Networks will become part of HP's StorageWorks division.

"Customers need a faster, less complex and more economical route to storage networking to better protect their critical business data," said Dave Roberson, senior vice president and general manager of that division.

LeftHand has been around since 1999 and has 215 employees and 500-plus resellers around the world. It focuses on reducing complexity by blending scalable storage software with industry standard hardware.

The company also boasts intelligent cloning technology that can reduce disk space requirements in certain virtualised scenarios by as much as 97 per cent. In addition to gaining the above by acquiring the vendor, HP hopes to beef up its midrange iSCSI portfolio.

"The acquisition of LeftHand Networks significantly expands our storage portfolio, enabling HP to deliver customers an expanded suite of storage functionality, scalable capacity and interconnect options for every budget and performance requirement," added Roberson.