Have No Fear - EMC buys Mozy

It is fun to root for the underdogs...the small companies that come up with a new and creative business that brings value to the marketplace. Congrats to the folks at Berkeley Data Systems / Mozy for doing that.

(Note: there is still no announcement from EMC or Mozy, but TechCrunch reported the transaction based on sources close to the deal.)

It is also fun to see a big behemoth of a company like EMC throw caution to the wind when it comes to "not invented here". EMC has little fear about acquisitions. Adding Mozy to the list of acquisition targets is just one more company in a lengthy roster that make backup-related software. Over the last few years EMC acquired the following companies in the backup, replication, data migration space:

2007 | Fall 2007, Mozy

2006 | November 15, 2006, Avamar | May 9, 2006, Kashya

2005 | August 17, 2005, Rainfinity

2004 | October 12, 2004, Dantz

2003 | October 21, 2003, Legato

This is an impressive list that would make most big companies spin around in circles trying to figure out how one acquisition overlapped with another, what the cannibalization might be, and how they could "leverage" the technology of one acquisition to suit other markets without having to go back out and make another purchase.

Instead, at least from the outside, EMC appears to be quick enough on their feet to just go for the gusto and let their market momentum help carry things forward. Whether you like EMC or not, you have to admire that.