Commvault to Boost AWS Data Protection With $47M Clumio Buy

Commvault plans to purchase a data protection startup founded by a former Nutanix, VMware and Oracle leader to provide faster recovery for AWS-based applications.

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The New Jersey-based cyber resilience vendor said its proposed acquisition of Silicon Valley-based Clumio will ensure rapid recovery of Amazon S3 data during critical outages or cyberattacks. The deal will strengthen Commvault’s data protection and rapid recovery offering while helping Clumio scale its services globally, enabling a larger reach for the company’s cloud-native protection technologies.

“In the event of an outage or cyberattack, rapidly getting back to business is paramount to our customers,” Commvault CEO Sanjay Mirchandani said in a statement. “Combining Commvault’s industry-leading cyber resilience capabilities with Clumio’s exceptional talent, technology and AWS expertise advances our recovery offerings, strengthens our platform, and reinforces our position.”

Commvault’s acquisition of Clumio is expected to close early next month, and the company’s stock is down $0.15 – 0.1% – to $152.20 per share in trading Wednesday. A spokesperson told Information Security Media Group that Commvault executives weren’t immediately available for additional comment (see: Commvault Buys Appranix to Make Ransomware Recovery Quicker).

Commvault Goes Bargain Hunting

Commvault will pay just $47 million for Clumio, a mere fraction of the $261 million the company has raised since its founding in 2017. The purchase price is smaller than the size of Clumio’s most recent round, where the company received $75 million in Series D funding from Sutter Hill Ventures in February. Clumio’s headcount has climbed from 158 employees in October 2023 to 201 staff today.

The company was led from its inception until May by Poojan Kumar, who previously led engineering and products for Nutanix, data protects for VMware as well as Oracle Exadata. In May, Kumar was replaced as CEO by former Snowflake sales leader and BigPanda Chief Revenue Officer Rick Underwood. Underwood wasn’t quoted in the news release announcing Commvault’s acquisition of Clumio.

“Thank you to our customers and partners for your support, loyalty and commitment,” Kumar said on LinkedIn after stepping down as Clumio’s CEO. “You have been the foundation of our success, and we will continue innovating and building for you. I am incredibly excited about the bright future ahead for Clumio!”

By acquiring Clumio, Mirchandani hopes to reinforce Commvault’s ability to handle Amazon S3 and other AWS-based applications, which he said have become critical for organizations that rely on AI and large data sets. Adding Clumio will improve Commvault’s platform for organizations that rely heavily on cloud-native applications by allowing them to recover quickly from cyberattacks or outages (see: Clumio CEO on Why AWS S3 Buckets Pose a Giant Security Risk).

The Push to Protect Amazon S3 Buckets

Clumio’s focus on AWS S3 data recovery is particularly valuable since S3 buckets have become the default storage option for many critical cloud-native applications, Commvault said. Clumio’s technology provides near-instant access to Amazon S3 during recovery operations, which Kumar said is crucial for organizations that cannot afford significant downtime.

“At Clumio, our vision was to build a platform that could scale quickly to protect the world’s largest and most complex data sets, including data lakes, warehouses and other business-critical data,” Kumar said in a statement. “Joining hands with Commvault allows us to get our cloud-native offerings to AWS customers on a global scale.”

Rapid recovery of Amazon S3 data during emergencies has become increasingly crucial in today’s digital landscape as downtime becomes more costly, according to the company. Clumio’s technology will be particularly useful in scaling Commvault’s data protection efforts for large enterprises, and Kumar said the combined technologies will enable better service for AWS customers.

The acquisition of Clumio will immediately benefit Commvault’s ARR and revenue and will have a positive impact on the company’s free cash flow within the next three quarters. Commvault said it will pay for Clumio using cash on hand.

The Commvault-Clumio deal comes just five months after Commvault purchased Boston-based cyber resilience vendor Appranix for $26.3 million to help customers get up and running faster after an outage or cyberattack. Appranix was Commvault’s first acquisition since January 2022, when the company bought Israeli cyber deception vendor TrapX Security for $18.7 million.