Copy that: Catalogic exits copy data management, divests software to IBM

Copy Data Manager Catalogic is now an ex-copy data manager. It has sold that side of its business to IBM so it can focus on enterprise and cloud data protection and security, including its CloudCasa Kubernetes backup product.

The Catalogic ECX software has been integrated with IBM since 2016. Catalogic said back then it could support Storwize hybrid arrays, SAN Volume Controller, FlashSystem V9000, the SoftLayer cloud and Spectrum Protect. The divestment financial arrangements have not been disclosed. Catalogic will work with IBM to support its existing ECX customer base.

Catalogic CEO Ken Barth, who has been in place since mid-2016, said: “IBM Storage has been an important business partner for Catalogic. We built a great team with a strong focus on supporting IBM Storage and we wish that team continued success. I am excited about the future of Catalogic with a stronger focus on building our SaaS platform for protecting hybrid and cloud native environments.”

Blocks & Files thinks ECX will become part of IBM’s Spectrum Discover product.

Copy Data Management is used to control the spread of copied data files, cataloguing and controlling base or master files, and serving out copies for use in test and dev and other activities. It  was once a stand-alone product technology that supported startups such as Actifio and Delphix, and now has moved to being simply a feature. Cohesity added it as a capability to its data management software in 2019; Delphix has moved on and upwards into data operations and Actifio was bought by Google at the end of 2020. 

In the container game

Catalogic announced ECX support for HPE Nimble storage in July 2020. Now it has decided that ECX development would be replaced by ECX divestment.

The firm is now focusing on the promised boom in protecting Kubernetes-orchestrated containers and faces a whole lot of competition – Diamanti, Dell EMC, Druva, HYCU, NetApp, Veeam’s Kasten, Portworx, Rubrik, and Veritas’s Trilio. 

Catalogic said CloudCasa supports all leading Kubernetes distributions and managed services and cloud database services, and it is available in various cloud marketplaces such as SUSE Rancher and DigitalOcean. 

Backing up, restoring and migrating container apps and data stores is a quickly growing market where probably every supplier can grow their business. It will probably take a downturn to expose the winners and losers.