"Diligent's data de-duplication software is a critical technology that will be integrated into the IBM Storage portfolio," said Andy Monshaw, general manager, IBM System Storage, as IBM today announced that it has acquired Diligent Technologies. Data de-duplication is an emerging technology that organizations are investing in today and Diligent's innovative technology, said IBM, provides a single solution to support data protection, archive and data-retention applications.

"Diligent's industry-proven data de-duplication offerings are exceptionally suited for mid-range and enterprise clients," Monshaw continued, "uniquely combining in-line performance, scalability and data integrity and extends IBM's strong portfolio of strategic offerings that will help our clients reduce infrastructure costs, improve energy efficiency in the data center, and enable them to fully utilize their information on demand."

"We are pleased to become a key member of the IBM System Storage family, knowing IBM has the industry's most comprehensive vision for the future direction of storage and data-protection," said Doron Kempel, Chairman and CEO, Diligent.

"Moreover, IBM has the requisite technologies in order to realize that vision," Kempel added. "The combination of IBM and Diligent will deliver increased innovation and industry-focused data protection solutions."

The Diligent acquisition will be an important part of IBM's New Enterprise Data Center model, which helps clients improve IT efficiency and facilitates the rapid deployment of new IT services for future business growth. The new model is based on best practices for virtualization, green IT, service management and cloud computing.

This is the third storage related acquisition for IBM in the past few months. In January, IBM formally announced it had acquired Israeli-based XIV to address emerging storage opportunities such as Web 2.0 applications, digital archives and digital media. Earlier this month, IBM announced its intent to acquire FilesX, a leading provider of continuous data protection software for mission-critical applications and remote offices.