Quantum Spins Out Snap

The new company, Snap Appliance, acquired another vendor, Broadband Storage, on the day it was born. Broadband Storage is an Irvine, Calif.-based startup developing technology to combine NAS and SAN capabilities, and it has been in stealth mode until now.

Several vendors are already combining SAN and NAS devices. EMC and Hitachi Data Systems offer devices that give NAS-like file-level access to data on a SAN. And Network Appliance, the largest NAS-only vendor, last month added SAN capabilities to its NAS appliances.

>> Acquisition of Broadband Storage represents new company's first strategic move.

It is important for customers that SANs and NAS be used together efficiently, said Joel Gilbert, vice president of Manchester Technologies, a Hauppauge, N.Y.-based solution provider.

"There are a lot of products out there that can bridge the two," Gilbert said. "Whoever can provide a good-quality, cost-effective solution can succeed in the market. %85 Snap may have such a solution, and it is well-known in the lower end of the market."

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Snap from day one is an experienced vendor and channel partner, said Mark Pollard, vice president of marketing and business development, who joined Snap through the Broadband Storage acquisition.

Snap has two significant investors, Mellon Ventures and Moore Capital Management, which together have invested about $25 million over two financing rounds, said Pollard. Quantum retains an equity stake of slightly less than 20 percent in Snap, the maximum allowed before it would have to recognize Snap's results in Quantum's books, said Rob Pickell, vice president in Quantum's Storage Solutions Group.

Snap already has an installed base of more than 110,000 appliances worldwide, all sold via the indirect channel, said Eric Kelly, president and CEO of Snap. "The channel has been successful for us to date," Kelly said. "We expect to continue down that path."

Quantum had prepared the Snap division for a spin-off but in April opted to put Snap and the ATL tape automation division into the Storage Solutions Group, Pickell said. "That was mainly to let us leverage Snap's NAS strength in the channel," he said.