Microsoft Corp. and ClearSky Data have entered into a licensing agreement to enable access to Microsoft’s Server Message Block (SMB) file transport technology for ClearSky’s on-demand, hybrid cloud storage service for backup and disaster recovery (DR). The agreement will enable users to easily transport multiple files or programs between ClearSky’s service and Windows tools simultaneously.
“We are excited to announce this agreement with ClearSky Data to offer its customers our SMB file transport services for cloud-based storage solutions,” said Micky Minhas, head, Microsoft Technology Licensing. “This agreement demonstrates Microsoft’s commitment to licensing our SMB intellectual property to enable innovative cloud solutions that integrate with the Windows ecosystem.”
The partnership between these two technology based companies is another example of the important role intellectual property (IP) plays in ensuring a healthy and vibrant technology ecosystem. Since Microsoft launched its IP licensing program in December of 2003, it has entered into more than 1,200 licensing agreements. Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC was formed in 2014 to acquire, manage and license Microsoft’s patent portfolio.
“Our partnership with Microsoft offers ClearSky Data the opportunity to provide a more robust network file sharing protocol for our enterprise customers moving to the cloud,” said Laz Vekiarides, CTO and co-founder, ClearSky. “This will help our customers get to the cloud seamlessly and more easily access their programs and efficiently manage their data, which is key to the success of their cloud operations.”
ClearSky delivers on-demand primary storage and offsite backup and DR as a single service. The company also empowers enterprise IT teams with the flash performance of on-premises storage and the elasticity of the cloud while reducing their storage costs by over 50 percent.
ClearSky allows enterprises to access all data wherever it’s needed, on-prem or in the cloud, without ever needing to replicate the data. The company’s service is fully elastic, which means that customers pay for only what they use and scale up or down on-demand.
Microsoft and ClearSky have partnered together in the hopes of benefitting you and your devices through this new licensing agreement.
Edited by
Ken Briodagh
