VMware to Buy Virtual Storage Vendor Virsto

VMware has announced that it will purchase virtual storage provider Virsto for an undisclosed sum. Industry observers say the purchase will complement VMware’s aim of helping enterprises create “software-defined data centers.”

Eric Savitz with Forbes reported, “VMware this afternoon said it has agreed to buy Virsto Software, a Sunnyvale, California-based provider of storage performance optimization software. Terms were not disclosed. The deal is expected to close in the current quarter.”

ZDNet’s Liam Tung noted, “Virsto positions itself as the ‘missing link’ in the software-defined datacentre, which VMware has pursued with its earlier acquisition of Nicira, one of the startups in the much-hyped software-defined networking business.”

NetworkWorld quoted VMware VP John Gilmartin, who blogged, “We believe that by extending the benefits of virtualization to every domain of the datacenter – compute, network, storage – we can help our customers achieve unprecedented levels of efficiency and agility.”

According to CRN’s Nick Whiting, “VMware said businesses are looking for ways to reduce the cost and complexity of data storage within virtual and cloud environments, particularly for virtual desktop infrastructure, business-critical applications and large software development and test centers. VMware said that when implemented within a VDI environment, Virsto could reduce data storage costs per desktop by as much as 70 percent.”