Symantec buys into online storage

Symantec has quietly paid an estimated $123 million [1] for privately-held online storage firm SwapDrive. The size of this deal eclipsed the $75 million that storage giant EMC paid for rival Mozy last September. Neither company issued a press release, but Symantec has grudgingly confirmed [2] that the deal closed on June 6.

According to TechCrunch [3], SwapDrive is adding 13,000 new customers a day, with services sold by more than 60 partners, including luminaries such as Iomega, Dell, Intuit and even Best Buy. A Symantec spokesperson says that this acquisition is purely a move to get into the consumer online backup market. It's apparent that Symantec is feeling the heat too quickly to boast its footprint in this important niche.

For more on the acquisition of SwapDrive by Symantec:
- check out this The Register article [4]