Commvault Acquires Clumio to Strengthen AWS Cyber Resilience Capabilities

Analyst: Krista Case
Publication Date: October 1, 2024
Document #: MCNKC202410

In the rapidly evolving cloud environment, ensuring the security and resilience of critical data has become a paramount concern for businesses across the globe. The acquisition of Clumio by Commvault, announced on September 24, 2024, will bolster Commvault’s cyber resilience offerings, especially for AWS customers. This article will explore the motivation behind this acquisition, the expected benefits, and the broader impact on the cloud security landscape.

What is Covered in this Article:

• Overview of the Acquisition
• Clumio’s Strengths and Innovations
• Strategic Rationale for Commvault
• Financial and Operational Impact
• Broader Market Implications
• A Strategic Acquisition for the Future of Cyber Resilience

The News: Commvault, a provider of hybrid cloud data protection and cyber resilience solutions, announced on September 24, 2024 that it is acquiring Clumio. Clumio has developed a cloud-native data protection solution targeted primarily at enabling near-instant data recovery during critical incidents for Amazon S3 workloads.

The Futurum Group expects Commvault to integrate Clumio’s AWS solution into its platform, providing customers with more robust cyber resilience capabilities in multi-cloud environments. The acquisition is set to close in October 2024 and is expected to be financially beneficial within three quarters. Commvault’s CEO, Sanjay Mirchandani, emphasized that this acquisition will solidify the company’s leadership in cyber resilience, particularly in the AWS cloud ecosystem.

Commvault Acquires Clumio to Strengthen AWS Cyber Resilience Capabilities

Analyst Take: Commvault made a strategically sound acquisition. As more organizations adopt cloud-native architectures, the ability to protect and recover data quickly in a multi-cloud environment has become a critical business need. By acquiring Clumio, Commvault is expanding its AWS offerings, positioning itself to offer a comprehensive range of solutions to address modern cloud data threats. In this regard, Clumio will augment Commvault’s April 20254 acquisition of Appranix, which provides full-stack recovery for cloud-native applications, from the standpoint of facilitating cyber-resiliency for cloud-hosted resources. Commvault, via its Metallic arm, already has strong traction in backup-as-a-service and protecting cloud-hosted resources, especially those in Microsoft Azure. The conflux of these two recent acquisitions will further strengthen this position especially in AWS environments.

Overview of the Acquisition

Commvault, a provider of hybrid cloud data protection and cyber resilience solutions, has made the decision to acquire Clumio, a technology company that specializes in protecting critical cloud data within Amazon Web Services (AWS). Clumio has built a reputation for its innovative cloud-native solutions, especially its ability to provide near-instant access to Amazon S3 data during critical recovery operations. The Futurum Group expects that Commvault will integrate Clumio’s AWS technology into its own platform, enhancing its overall capabilities in a growing cloud-first era.

According to Commvault’s CEO, Sanjay Mirchandani, the deal will strengthen Commvault’s cyber resilience capabilities and its position as a leading Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) provider for cloud data recovery. The acquisition also positions Commvault to offer expanded services to its existing customer base, which includes major names such as Atlassian, Cox Automotive, Duolingo, and LexisNexis.

Clumio’s Strengths and Innovations

Clumio has established itself as a key player in AWS data protection, particularly through its innovations that cater to businesses relying heavily on Amazon S3 storage. As organizations increasingly leverage the cloud for mission-critical operations, including artificial intelligence (AI) development, Clumio’s ability to provide swift data recovery in the event of outages or cyberattacks has been a significant advantage.

One of Clumio’s standout contributions is its secure, logically isolated SaaS backup solution, which provides ransomware protection and enables businesses to restore their data within minutes. The platform’s scalability and its ability to protect large and complex data sets, such as data lakes and warehouses, make it particularly attractive to organizations with extensive cloud infrastructure. Clumio’s expertise in this domain is a perfect complement to Commvault’s established strengths in cyber resilience.

Poojan Kumar, Clumio’s co-founder, emphasized that the company’s vision was always to build a platform that could scale rapidly to protect the world’s most complex data environments. By joining forces with Commvault, Clumio’s cloud-native offerings can now reach a global audience, further amplifying its impact.

Strategic Rationale for Commvault

The acquisition of Clumio aligns with several key strategic goals for Commvault:

• Expanding AWS Offerings: AWS is a critical cloud platform for many organizations, and as more businesses transition to the cloud, the demand for robust data protection solutions is growing. With Clumio’s expertise, Commvault can offer AWS customers more comprehensive protection and faster recovery capabilities, addressing some of the most pressing concerns for cloud-native businesses.
• Enhancing Cyber Resilience: Cyberattacks and data breaches are becoming more frequent and sophisticated. Clumio’s technology will strengthen Commvault’s ability to help AWS customers to bounce back quickly from such incidents, minimizing downtime and mitigating data loss.
• Scaling SaaS Solutions: For years now, Commvault has been focused on delivering scalable, cloud-based solutions. The integration of Clumio’s technologies will expand Commvault’s portfolio in this area.
• Increased Flexibility for Multi-Cloud Environments: The modern business environment is increasingly multi-cloud, and organizations require flexible solutions that can protect data across different cloud platforms. Clumio’s cloud-native approach complements Commvault’s existing hybrid cloud solutions, providing customers with more options for data protection and recovery.

Financial and Operational Impact

Although the purchase price for Clumio was not deemed material to Commvault, the transaction is expected to bring immediate financial benefits. Specifically, Commvault anticipates that the acquisition will be accretive to both annual recurring revenue (ARR) and free cash flow within three quarters of closing the deal. This suggests that the integration of Clumio’s services will have a swift and positive impact on Commvault’s financial performance.

The acquisition is set to close in early October 2024, and Commvault has reiterated its fiscal second-quarter earnings guidance, which was initially provided in July 2024. This reaffirms the company’s confidence that the acquisition will align smoothly with its financial projections and operational plans.

Broader Market Implications

Commvault’s acquisition of Clumio signals broader trends in the cloud data protection market. As businesses increasingly rely on cloud platforms such as AWS, the need for advanced, scalable cyber resilience solutions has never been more urgent. Data protection is no longer a reactive process but a proactive necessity, especially given the increasing prevalence of ransomware and other cyber threats.

• Cyber Resilience as a Priority: Cyber resilience, which involves not only preventing data breaches but also ensuring quick recovery when they occur, has become a top priority for organizations. Commvault’s move to acquire Clumio reinforces the importance of investing in solutions that can mitigate the impact of cyberattacks, ensuring that businesses can maintain continuity even in the face of disruptions.
• SaaS Plays an Important Role in the Future of Data Protection: The shift toward SaaS-based solutions is another key trend highlighted by this acquisition. Businesses are looking for flexible, scalable, and cost-effective ways to protect their data, and SaaS platforms offer the agility and ease of deployment that traditional, on-premises solutions cannot match.
• The Growing Importance of AWS: AWS continues to be a dominant force in the cloud market, and as more organizations migrate their operations to AWS, the demand for specialized AWS data protection solutions will continue to grow. By acquiring Clumio, Commvault is positioning itself as a leader in this space, offering AWS customers the robust data recovery and protection services they need to ensure business continuity.

A Strategic Acquisition for the Future of Cyber Resilience

Commvault’s acquisition of Clumio will allow the company to enhance its cyber resilience capabilities and extend its reach into the rapidly growing AWS ecosystem. From the standpoint of cyber resilience for cloud environments, it is notable that the acquisition of Clumio follows Commvault’s acquisition of full-cloud application stack recovery provider Appranix in April 2024.

As the cloud landscape continues to evolve, Commvault is moving to solidify leadership in the cyber resilience space, offering a comprehensive suite of solutions designed to protect businesses from the ever-growing threat of cyberattacks and data breaches. With the ability to recover from disruptions quickly and efficiently, Commvault’s customers can focus on what matters most—driving innovation and growth in the cloud.

What to Watch:

• Competitor Response: Commvault, with its Metallic arm, already has material mindshare and momentum in backup-as-a-service and in protecting cloud-hosted applications and infrastructure. The combination of Clumio and Appranix will further strengthen its position. Watch for investment from other players in data protection, such as Veeam, Rubrik, and Druva, in areas such as intelligent protection and recovery for cloud-native data and applications.
• Emerging Technologies: Advancements are being made in using artificial intelligence and machine learning for predictive data recovery and cyber-resiliency. Companies developing AI-driven data protection may challenge Commvault and Clumio’s offerings.
• Market Shift Towards Multi-Cloud: As organizations increasingly adopt multi-cloud strategies, the expertise around AWS workloads that Clumio brings is a strategic complement to the rest of Commvault’s backup-as-a-service portfolio.
• Cloud Cost Optimization: Enterprises seek solutions that reduce cloud complexity and costs. Clumio’s strength in optimizing AWS storage costs will be beneficial.
• Data Privacy Regulations: As global data privacy regulations continue to evolve (e.g., GDPR, CCPA), the need for compliance-driven data protection services will intensify. Commvault’s success could hinge on how well it integrates compliance tools into Clumio’s technologies to address these regulatory challenges.
• Economic Uncertainty: If the global economic slowdown or a tightening of IT budgets occurs, enterprises may limit spending on new cloud protection technologies. Commvault’s challenge will be to prove the value of this acquisition through clear ROI and cost-effective solutions for data recovery and resilience.

See the full press release of Commvault’s Acquisition of Clumio on the Commvault Website.

Disclosure: The Futurum Group is a research and advisory firm that engages or has engaged in research, analysis, and advisory services with many technology companies, including those mentioned in this article. The author does not hold any equity positions with any company mentioned in this article.

Analysis and opinions expressed herein are specific to the analyst individually and data and other information that might have been provided for validation, not those of The Futurum Group as a whole.

Other insights from The Futurum Group:

Cyber-Resiliency Will Fuel Commvault’s Drive to Fiscal 2026 Goals

Commvault Acquires Appranix to Bolster Cyber-Resiliency

Subscription Revenue Drives Commvault’s Exceptional Q1 2025 Results

Author Information

Krista Case

With a focus on data security, protection, and management, Krista has a particular focus on how these strategies play out in multi-cloud environments. She brings approximately 15 years of experience providing research and advisory services and creating thought leadership content. Her vantage point spans technology and vendor portfolio developments; customer buying behavior trends; and vendor ecosystems, go-to-market positioning, and business models. Her work has appeared in major publications including eWeek, TechTarget and The Register.

Prior to joining The Futurum Group, Krista led the data protection practice for Evaluator Group and the data center practice of analyst firm Technology Business Research. She also created articles, product analyses, and blogs on all things storage and data protection and management for analyst firm Storage Switzerland and led market intelligence initiatives for media company TechTarget.