Storvisor Emerges as Springpath With $34 Million to Simplify Data Storage
Summary
Springpath Inc. emerged from stealth Wednesday with $34 million in funding and a new software platform that is intended to dramatically simplify how data storage is done. Add to that the new technologies coming into the data center--the big-data file system Hadoop, the cloud software OpenStack, flash memory, and containers like those from Docker that are considered alternatives to the virtual machines on which VMware is built--and “it forces you to the disruption point,” said founder and Chief Executive Mallik Mahalingam. They also liked Cassandra (an open-source database now being commercialized by DataStax Inc.) and the Google File System, which inspired Springpath’s patent-pending technology called HALO that permits fast addition of servers to its platform and is optimized for both flash and hard-disk drives. Along with the funding, for instance, the company is announcing an agreement with the technology distributor Tech Data Corp., which will offer various servers preloaded with Springpath software. Springpath’s founders have also tried to emulate the good things they have seen at their former employers, they said, for instance the sense of confidence that they saw VMware and other tech companies instill in customers because their products were “rock solid” and didn’t lose data.