Microsoft Buys DATAllegro

July 25, 2008

Microsoft intends to acquire DATAllegro, a provider of data warehouse appliances. The acquisition will extend the capabilities of Microsoft’s mission-critical data platform, making it easier and more cost-effective for customers of all sizes to manage and glean insight from the ever-expanding amount of data generated by and for businesses, employees and consumers.

“DATAllegro is a tremendously innovative company that has started to redefine the data warehouse market,” said Ted Kummert, corporate vice president of the Data and Storage Platform Division at Microsoft. “Microsoft SQL Server 2008 delivers enterprise-class capabilities in business intelligence and data warehousing, and the addition of the DATAllegro team and its technology will take our data platform to the highest scale of data warehousing.”

“Integrating DATAllegro’s nonproprietary hardware platform and flexible software architecture into Microsoft SQL Server will provide customers with the strongest offering in the market,” said Stuart Frost, CEO of DATAllegro. “We are excited to join forces with Microsoft and continue the innovation this company was founded on.”

Unlike most data warehouse appliance vendors targeting the 1–25 terabyte range, DATAllegro has specialized in large-volume, high-performance data warehouses. DATAllegro’s data warehouse appliance installations boast some of the largest data volume capacities in the industry — up to hundreds of terabytes on a single system. DATAllegro clients span such markets as retail, telecommunications and manufacturing.

According to a report by Donald Feinberg of Gartner., “As data warehouses are becoming more strategic to organizations and as data warehouse appliances mature, the adoption rate of the data warehouse appliance is increasing rapidly.”

In addition to offering large capacities, DATAllegro’s patent-pending technology is designed for complex workloads including high concurrency and mixed queries. DATAllegro is one of the few data warehouse appliances built on a nonproprietary hardware platform including Dell and Bull servers and EMC storage. This flexible architecture makes it ideally suited to integrate with Microsoft SQL Server.

After completing the acquisition, Microsoft will retain most of DATAllegro’s team as well as its headquarters in Aliso Viejo, Calif., making it a Center of Excellence for data warehousing. Existing DATAllegro customers will continue to be supported.

“We are pleased to support DATAllegro’s pending acquisition,” said Lisa Lambert, managing director of the Software and Solutions Group for Intel Capital. “DATAllegro’s integration with SQL Server is the optimal next-generation solution, and the acquisition by Microsoft is a great conclusion for the company.”

To help customers of all sizes keep up with the current “data explosion” and allow them to benefit from the next generation of data-driven applications, Microsoft is focused on delivering not just a database but a data platform. A leader in data warehousing and business intelligence (BI), Microsoft SQL Server includes comprehensive, tightly integrated functionality for data management as well as advanced BI out of the box. SQL Server delivers on Microsoft’s vision for pervasive BI by providing capabilities for large-scale data warehousing, rich interoperability with Microsoft Office, and enhanced functionality for Microsoft’s BI solutions. SQL Server is a key element of the broader Microsoft Application Platform, a portfolio of technology capabilities and core products that help organizations develop, deploy and manage dynamic applications and IT infrastructure.