EMC Corporation (http://www.emc.com) announced today that it will acquire Data General Corporation (http://www.dg.com) in a stock swap valued at $1.1 billion. The acquisition adds Data General’s fibre-channel storage technology, Windows NT and UNIX storage systems and software, and clustered server products to EMC’s line of enterprise-class storage devices. The move also gives EMC a stronger position in the $10 billion midrange storage market. In return, Data General gains access to EMC’s worldwide sales force. EMC president and CEO Michael Ruettgers said, "This acquisition delivers on our long-stated objective of constantly expanding our market opportunities. Data General’s products have proven technology leadership in the midrange storage market, particularly NT and UNIX environments, but have lacked the global distribution and support needed to achieve their full market potential." He added that EMC believes Data General’s storage products will add to EMC's high-end Symmetrix Enterprise Storage family. The acquisition provides EMC with complementary technology, and is particularly strategic in bringing fibre-channel connectivity technology to EMC. Data General’s CLARiiON storage technology unit has established a recognized position in midrange storage and storage software, such as storage area network backup and management software, that will offer EMC access to new markets and improve EMC’s flexibility and reach. Data General president and CEO Ronald Skates said, "As a technology market leader with an unmatched track record of execution, EMC is the ideal company to continue the hard work and innovation of Data General into the millennium. We look forward to the opportunity for our technologies and our people to thrive as part of EMC." Although EMC will integrate its products with Data General’s storage products, EMC will leave Data General's server business to operate as an independent unit within EMC. Data General's AviiON server business will continue to work in the area of Non-Uniform Memory Access (NUMA) architecture, enterprise NT, and solutions in the health-care market. EMC could leverage this technology to provide a complete front-end server and back-end storage solution to customers. Additionally, EMC plans to integrate aspects of Data General's Intel processor systems and high-performance OS technologies to create network-attached storage products. EMC’s move will make the company more competitive in the Storage Area Network (SAN) market, especially in the deployment of storage systems based on PC servers. Many analysts see this as the major growth area in the data center.
