Storage M&A: Rubrik Buying Datos IO To Get Cloud Native, Modern Application Data Management Tech

Data protection and data management technology developer Rubrik is looking to expand into managing the vast outputs from big data and NoSQL databases with a planned acquisition of Datos IO.

Rubrik on Tuesday said it plans to acquire Datos IO, and its flagship RecoverX platform, for an undisclosed sum.

With RecoverX, Rubrik plans to become a leading vendor in protecting and managing data in NoSQL database environments including data generated by such big data companies as MongoDB, Cassandra, Couchbase, and Amazon DynamoDB, said Bipul Sinha, co-founder and CEO of Palo Alto, Calif.-based Rubrik.

[Related: Cloud Storage Vendor Rubrik Hires Former Google Cloud Exec As New Channel Chief]

With Datos IO, Rubrik will also become a leading provider of data protection technology for big data environments including for Cloudera and Hortonworks, Sinha told CRN.

Datos IO, which was founded in 2014 and came to market in 2016 counted among its investors Cisco and NetApp, both of whom invested "millions" of dollars in the company, Datos IO CEO and co-founder Tarun Thakur told CRN last May.

Thakur (photo below, right) will remain with Rubrik after the acquisition closes to run a new business unit called Rubrik Datos IO, where he will report to Sinha (photo below, left).

Datos IO has a unique offering for protecting such data in their cloud-native formats, Sinha said. "Enterprises are using [this data] in a cloud-native situation for artificial intelligence, machine learning, as well as traditional enterprise software applications," he said.

Rubrik has looked at the build-versus-buy decision for moving into the protecting of cloud native data, and decided that the acquisition of Datos was the best move.

"We thought that [Datos IO's] technology was pretty compelling, and it would accelerate and significantly expand Rubrik's cloud data management offerings," he said.

Rubrik's vision is to become a cloud data management platform for backup, recovery, and archiving, both for on-premises and cloud-based applications, Sinha said.

"When we look at enterprise adoption of NoSQL databases in a cloud native architecture, particularly around artificial intelligence, IoT, and other applications, it is a growing area," he said. "And we wanted to make sure we build and we offer comprehensive solutions around those particular applications."

Both Rubrik and Datos IO are channel-only vendors.

The acquisition is a very good move for Rubrik given how good the Datos IO technology is, said Aaron Cardenas, CEO and founder of P1 Technologies, a Hermosa Beach, Calif.-based solution provider who works with both vendors.

Despite how strong Datos IO's technology is, it is a small company and one that may or may not have been able to grow as a stand-alone company, Cardenas told CRN.

"Customers are using those NoSQL databases, but not a lot yet," he said. "And those customers are still used to free stuff, like free MongoDB applications. They're not used to paying for backups."

However, the acquisition by Rubrik will mean increased interest in the Datos IO technology, Cardenas said.

"The technology will bind right in with the Rubrik offerings," he said. "This is technology that is not included with most data protection technologies. The more applications Rubrik can address, the better. These databases are forward-looking applications. I expect their footprint to grow dramatically in the next few years."

Ned Engelke, chief technology officer at Evotek, a San Diego-based solution provider partnering with both vendors, told CRN that he started working Datos IO because it offers incremental technology not commonly found in the market.

Datos IO allows customers to provide data management in modern cloud native environments where they are dealing with multiple nodes of data which needs to be replicated for data protection or test and development purposes, Engelke said.

"Rubrik today works great in VMware, NAS, Oracle, and SQL environments, and knows how to talk to high-availability pairs to do backups," he said. "But in cloud environments with 10 nodes, Rubrik may not work. Not many do."

Rubrik so far has raised about $292 million in investments, Sinha said. The acquisition of Datos IO will be made from existing funds. Datos IO has to date raised somewhere around $25 million, he said.

Sinha told CRN that Datos IO is Rubrik's first acquisition, and indeed is the first acquisition he has ever overseen.

"This is my first gig as a CEO, so everything is first-time here," he said.