Data Domain sells out to NetApp
Dear Data Domain Customers and Partners,
Today we announced that Data Domain has entered into a definitive agreement to be acquired by NetApp. The proposed merger is subject to Data Domain stockholder approval, certain regulatory approvals and customary closing conditions. Until the deal closes, each company will continue to operate independently, and it is business as usual.
Deal rationale. The merger combines our own market leading data protection and archive storage with NetApp's best-in-class primary storage solutions. Worthy of note are the following characteristics of the combined entity.
- In the face of never-abating data growth, the two companies share a passion for storage efficiency, using software and CPU-centric approaches to deliver ultra-efficient storage rather than the brute force method of adding more disk spindles to boost performance and availability. Disk spindles are expensive in large volume and consume great amounts of power and data center space. Our combined quest is simply to be the very best in enterprise data storage.
- The combined company will deliver a broader solution footprint in the data center. This will allow enterprise customers to rely on a single vendor for more of their needs. The combined company will have a much stronger position in the highly competitive storage market place than either of the individual companies.
- We see compelling opportunities to innovate through integration of our respective product sets, yielding enhanced compatibilities, feature sets and differentiation. Specifically, we believe that our combined storage solutions will address the complete spectrum of performance and capacity optimized storage needs. At Data Domain we have long recognized the need to become present in the primary storage market, and this merger accomplishes that objective in a very timely and compelling manner.
- Data Domain partners may see an expanded opportunity to sell Data Domain products as a function of NetApp’s much deeper and broader sales coverage as well as customer base. Data Domain products will gain access to enterprise customers, vertical industry sectors and geographies where we have had less presence thus far.
- The respective companies have a good cultural fit. We share similar business values and a commitment to superior technology and solutions.
We are very grateful to our partners and customers who chose Data Domain for their IT infrastructure needs. We believe that this merger will strengthen our business globally, accelerate our roadmap on critical technologies, and deliver a superior product, support and service experience for our valued customers and partners around the world.
There are still many details and activities to be worked through – and we expect many questions. We will be communicating with you as more information becomes available for us to share. To learn more about the acquisition, please visit www.datadomain.com.
Frank Slootman
President and CEO
Data Domain, Inc.