Emc_corporation encyclopedia topics

History

EMC was founded in 1979 by Richard Egan and Roger Marino as first a manufacture's sales and distribution representative and soon a manufacturer of memory boards. Shortly thereafter, the company expanded beyond memory to disk drives and networked storage platforms and it remains the largest provider of data storage platforms in the world, competing in a market against IBM, NetApp, Hewlett-Packard, and Hitachi Data Systems. EMC has also introduced software and professional services that transition its business into comprehensive information management. Joseph Tucci became CEO in 2001.

In July 2006 EMC opened a Research and Development office in Shanghai, China, to leverage the burgeoning Chinese labor pool and facilitate a further expansion into the Chinese market.

On June 7, 2007, EMC announced that it would invest $160 million in Singapore to set up a new development laboratory which would begin operations within the year. By this time, EMC is not only among the largest players in the storage hardware business, but also ranks 11th on the list of largest software companies in the world.

A series of acquisitions and partnerships helped grow EMC to the largest provider of data storage platforms in the world. On November 12, 2007 EMC partnered with NetQoS to deliver the first integrated infrastructure discovery and performance monitoring solutions.

Products and Services

EMC’s data storage products are built to store, protect, optimize, and leverage information. The company’s network-attached storage (NAS) and storage area network (SAN) are market leaders, and the company is credited with creating the content-addressable storage (CAS) category with the introduction of its Centera platform.

EMC’s enterprise content management software is used to capture and store documents in a secure and central location. Using this software, employees can share documents and work together. As a result, companies are able to manage their information better and make sure they are in compliance with various regulations.

RSA, the security division of EMC, develops products to secure enterprise data, secure employee and partner access, and manage security information.

Acquisitions

In 2002, EMC acquired Prisa Networks for its VisualSAN SAN management product. Initially a hardware company, EMC in 2003 switched its diversification into software and services into high gear, begun under new CEO Joe Tucci in 2001, by first acquiring Legato Systems, Inc. for $1.3 billion in July, followed by its purchases of Documentum, a computer software manufacturer which produces an enterprise content management system for global enterprises worldwide, and VMware in October and December 2003 respectively. Continuing its acquisitive streak, EMC announced the purchase of network management software company System Management Arts, Inc., also known as SMARTS. Recently, EMC has been doing a lot of work in the area of Information Lifecycle Management (ILM), and has added physical security products including the EMC Security Analysis Management Solution (SAMS). The acquisition of Rainfinity in August 2005 added a storage virtualization product targeting Global File Virtualization, that builds on the broader virtualization theme that began with VMware.

Through an acquisition of a Belgian software company called FilePool, EMC developed a data-archiving product called Centera. This content-addressable storage platform addressed archiving-specific needs of ILM in rapidly changing technical environments.

On June 29, 2006, EMC announced that it was buying security software company RSA Security, Inc., adding Information Security to its already impressive lineup of storage products. On a conference call with investors announcing the deal, CEO Joe Tucci said, "EMC is where information lives and tomorrow EMC will be the company where information lives securely. The company will become EMC's Information Security Division.

On July 12, 2007, EMC acquired X-Hive Corporation, a leading XML technology company based in Rotterdam, Netherlands that has built a solid reputation for providing enterprise-class XML products in the aerospace and publishing industries. This acquisition is a strategic commitment of EMC to the next-generation of information management and XML. X-Hive, with its Java-based XML products and know-how, is expected to take a prominent position in EMC's software portfolio by having XML tools integrated to Documentum to round out EMC's own XML infrastructure offering, from an XML repository with indexing and search to component content management and XML applications in EMC's entire enterprise content management stack, enabling organizations of all sizes to transform the way they create value from their information. With the completion of acquisition, X-Hive Corporation will be fully integrated into the EMC Content Management and Archiving (CMA) business unit.

On April 8, 2008, EMC announced that it was buying Iomega Corporation, Inc., initially made famous by its line of Zip and Jaz external mass storage devices, but with the advent of flash drives and writeable CD-ROMs, saw its sales plummet. EMC is using the Iomega purchase to move into the Retail and SOHO space, an area where it traditionally had little penetration. Iomega's sales channels and brand recognition will be a tremendous asset to EMC. Iomega had already been packaging their eGo line of portable hard drives with EMC Retrospect backup software, a product EMC acquired through its purchase of Dantz Corporation in 2004. This merger brings the EMC brand closer "to the shelf" in the Consumer and Small Business channel.

Timeline of acquisitions

EMC Mergers and Acquisitions
1993

August 31, 1993: Epoch Systems Inc. (Data backup software) (announcement)
August 31, 1993: Magna Computer Corporation (Form:10-Q Filing)

1994

Q1, 1994; Array Technology Corporation (Acquires certain assets of) (Form:10-Q Filing)
February 2, 1994: Copernique S.A. (Acquires major stake) (announcement)

1995