EMC acquires data-archiving specialist

EMC pushed further into information management software on Tuesday with its purchase of software maker Acartus, which develops programs for archiving business reports, statements and billings. Terms of the deal were undisclosed.

EMC, maker of storage systems, said archiving is a stumbling point for many businesses, which have splintered data into "silos." EMC hopes to sell companies on its common information archiving system, for which the Colorado-based Acartus is an important component. Acartus programs interoperate with EMC's Documentum content management software.

The agreement complements EMC's $275 million deal last week to acquire Captiva Software, which turns paper documents into digital data. "Much like Captiva does for paper-based information, Acartus extends our capability to address the archiving needs of reports, print streams, statements, bills and other forms of electronic fixed content, which comprise a large portion of all unstructured information," Dave DeWalt, president of EMC's software division, said in a statement.