Lenovo Tuesday unveiled plans to acquire software vendor Stoneware in a deal that will grow the PC giant's cloud portfolio and accelerate its transition into its "PC Plus" era.
Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed, but Lenovo said Stoneware's 67 employees, which are dispersed between the software firm's Indiana and Salt Lake City offices, will join the Lenovo team. The deal is expected to close before the end of the year.
The acquisition will arm Lenovo with full access to Stoneware's portfolio of cloud-based solutions, including its webNetwork product, which is used to create a unified cloud platform, incorporating private data centers, public clouds and local device resources within a common desktop console. This offering, along with Stoneware's LanSchool product, are used primarily in the education sector.
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Lenovo hopes its acquisition of Stoneware will help it realize its goal of enabling client devices, ranging from notebooks to tablets to smart TVs, to connect and communicate with one another seamlessly via the cloud. This aim has become a focal point of Lenovo's "PC Plus" strategy, or its new initiate to broaden its traditional PC offerings.
"With today’s typical technology user carrying multiple devices, the PC Plus era is here, and Lenovo is aggressively expanding its product offerings and capabilities to help people and businesses connect across any device to the content and communities that matter most to them," Lenovo said Tuesday in a statement. "Customers simply want a better way to connect their PC with their tablet with their smartphone, and with Stoneware, Lenovo aims to help them get there." Lenovo currently offers a handful of cloud products, including its Lenovo Cloud Storage (LCS) and Secure Cloud Access (SCA) solutions.
The Stoneware deal marks the latest of Lenovo's efforts to expand its presence beyond the PC market. In August, Lenovo announced a new partnership with EMC, aimed at broadening its reach into the x86-based enterprise server market and accelerating adoption of its existing ThinkServer lines.
PUBLISHED SEPT. 18, 2012
