WD jump into the cloud market with Upthere acquisition

Just as Western Digital pushes further into the SSD market, the data storage company has announced its acquisition of cloud services company Upthere in hopes of bettering its cloud services. This enables WD to utilise the Upthere's sync functionality, allowing users to backup files and photos across a variety of devices.

WD is hoping to expand into the same market as Dropbox and Google Drive, with its own rival cloud system acting as a single point in which files can be stored and accessed. Upthere will continue to improve upon its services and produce new products under the WD banner, however it is currently unknown if the WD's physical drives will receive cloud integration in the future.

“Upthere is delivering on its mission to transform the personal storage market, and we share their focus on providing consumers more rich and meaningful experiences with their data,” said WD's senior vice president and general manager of Client Solutions, Jim Welsh. “I'm pleased to have Upthere CEO Chris Bourdon join the team as a strategic leader. His extensive software expertise will help accelerate our user experience and cloud services imperatives across all aspects of the Client Solutions business.”

Previously, WD's attempts at the cloud market has come in the forms of its MyCloud and MyBook World products as well as it's network attached storage devices. This marks the first time that the company has placed focus on in-house cloud storage that doesn't require its users to buy hardware to utilise, as most services are accessible via various apps.

“The Upthere team is excited to join Western Digital, with whom we share a longstanding relationship and commitment to significantly advance the consumer experience through cloud-based solutions,” adds Upthere CEO Chris Bourdon. “It is clear that Western Digital recognises the great technology and products we have developed and this transaction is a testament to our hard-working team. I am confident that, together, we will continue to innovate cloud-based services with the potential to revolutionise how consumers and businesses create, manage and keep their important data.”

KitGuru Says: Although I don't advocate brand loyalty, WD has been my go-to company when expanding my storage options, so I am interested to see where the company go with this ready-made technology. It would certainly prompt me to buy another external if it had cloud integration functionality. What types of storage are you currently running?

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