UPDATED 03:35 EDT / JULY 08 2015

NEWS

EMC offloads Syncplicity to “focus on its core storage business”

EMC Corp. has announced the sale of Syncplicity LLC, it’s file-sharing and collaboration business, to the investment firm Skyview Capital for an undisclosed fee.

The sale comes barely three years after EMC acquired Syncplicity in 2012. At the time, it was seen as the company’s response to the burgeoning popularity of mobile computing and the bring -your-own-device (BYOD) trend sweeping the enterprise. Syncplicity is similar other cloud-based file-sharing services like Dropbox, Box and Google Drive, and runs on Windows, Linux, Android and iOS.

Since buying Syncplicity, EMC has done a lot of work to integrate the software into its own enterprise offerings. EMC has adapted the service so enterprises can use it access data in their systems, and it also added central controls over the way specific types of files could be shared.

But now EMC says it no longer needs Syncplicity, as it distracts the company from focusing on its core storage business. As a result, the sale will allow EMC Information Infrastructure, its all-important storage division, focus investments on that core business. EMC isn’t completely washing its hands off of Syncplicity however; it will retain a financial interest in the company, and it will continue to sell the service under its EMC Select partner program. As for Skyview, it said it plans to continue investing in Syncplicity and enhance the service further. The company added that Syncplicity will give it the opportunity to accelerate innovation and attract more partners and resellers.

Of course, the sale of Syncplicity won’t change the fact that EMC has become much more than just an enterprise storage business. It’s actually a federation of storage (EMC), virtualization (VMware Inc.), Big Data (Pivotal Software Inc.), and security (RSA Systems), and even though that model has been criticized in recent months by investors who want to split it up (notably by offloading VMware), EMC has fought hard to keep it together.

Image credit: EMC via Vimeo

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