Adaptec Acquires IBM RAID Technology

   Adaptec has licensed and acquired certain RAID data-protection technology from IBM and plans to use the technology to expand and improve its RAID-related product offerings. The deal includes RAID data-protection intellectual property, RAID products, and related expertise. Adaptec will become the sole supplier for the next 3 years of RAID controllers for IBM's eServer iSeries and pSeries servers. (Adaptec currently provides data protection technology for IBM xSeries servers.) According to Adaptec, the new agreement with IBM should lead to $150 million in new revenue over the term of the agreement. "Our strategic relationship with IBM has been a successful one, and we are pleased to expand our collaboration even further to deliver next-generation RAID data-protection solutions for xSeries, iSeries, and pSeries customers with diverse business needs," said Robert N. Stephens, Adaptec president and CEO.
   Technologies covered by the agreement include IBM's ServeRAID technology, which Adaptec has licensed for use in its PCI RAID and external products. Adaptec will also acquire an IBM RAID engineering team that currently builds the components for the iSeries and pSeries servers. Financial terms of the agreement weren't released.