NetApp is acquiring Riverbed's SteelStore backup/recovery storage appliance line for $80m in cash.
NetApp expects to start offering the products in January 2015. SteelStore systems use both deduplication and compression to cut down on storage usage and work with primary storage systems from NetApp and 3rd-party vendors, as well as various cloud storage platforms.
The purchase arguably plugs a hole in NetApp's product line relative to EMC, which has been offering its Avamar backup/recovery appliances (also supports deduplication and compression) for a while.
NetApp and EMC once waged a bidding war (won by EMC) for leading deduplication system vendor Data Domain.
Riverbed, meanwhile, is in the middle of a strategic review that reportedly includes mergers and acquistions.