Datos IO's ability to protect applications built on NoSQL databases caught the attention of Rubrik, which strives to protect all data stored on premises and in the cloud.
Converged data protection vendor Rubrik today acquired startup Datos IO, which sells software to protect data in cloud-native databases and big data file systems.
Privately held Rubrik did not disclose the purchase price for its first acquisition, but Rubrik has built a war chest with its $292 million in funding since 2015. Datos IO picked up $15.3 million in funding since 2014.
Rubrik's strategy is to provide a platform to protect and manage all secondary data stored on premises and in the cloud. Datos IO gives it the ability to protect applications built on NoSQL databases -- including MongoDB, Cassandra, Couchbase and Amazon DynamoDB -- along with Cloudera and Hortonworks file systems.
"Our ambition for Rubrik is to build a single management fabric from on premises to cloud across all applications," Rubrik CEO Bipul Sinha said. "We saw Datos IO was going after cloud-native Cassandra and MongoDB backup and felt this was complementary to Rubrik. It expands Rubrik's footprint."
Datos IO came out of stealth with its RecoverX software in late 2015. It released its latest version, RecoverX 2.5, in November 2017.
Rubrik, Datos IO choose integration over separate operations
In an interview last December, Datos IO Co-founder and CEO Tarun Thakur said his goal was to generate $20 million in revenue in 2018 and build a $100 million software company by 2023. Thakur said Datos IO had around 30 customers, including eBay, Verizon, Macy's, Maxwell Health, Cardinal Health, Home Depot, T-Mobile and Expedia.
"We walk into these companies and ask them, 'Do you have any next-generation databases? What applications are you running on them, and what are you doing for backup?'" Thakur said. "The answer is usually nothing."
Sinha said he considered having Rubrik developers build their own software for protecting these cloud-native apps, but he estimated it would take nine months to a year.
"We felt that, instead of spending that time building this, we can do this acquisition and accelerate our place in the market," he said. "The market is still evolving. It's still early, but we want to be a single platform for all cloud-native applications, including NoSQL databases. We felt having a product in that space would position us well for the next three to five years."
We're only in the first innings of the cloud.
Tarun ThakurCo-founder and CEO, Datos IO
Sinha said most of Datos IO's approximately 40 employees would join Rubrik, which now has more than 800 employees. Datos IO will become a business unit inside Rubrik, led by Thakur.
Sinha said Rubrik will continue to sell Datos IO RecoverX software but will integrate its policy engine and policy management inside Rubrik's Cloud Data Management platform.
"With internet of things, artificial intelligence, machine learning, these are areas that a lot of our enterprise customers are starting to build products for," Sinha said. "They're using cloud-native databases to build these applications. As these new areas become mainstream, the need for data protection for cloud databases will grow."
Thakur agreed that these are early days for Datos IO technology.
"We're only in the first innings of the cloud," Thakur said. "We have 20 years ahead of us. Companies want something that will do backup and recovery in the cloud, but also handle massive data movement. Storage is being consumed in the cloud a lot faster than we thought. If you're running your application in the cloud, how do you protect it?"
