Symantec buys Clearwell Systems to boost archiving portfolio

Symantec has agreed to an acquisition deal with e-discovery software specialist Clearwell Systems.

Under the terms of the deal, which is expected to close in September, Symantec will pay $390m (£240m) for the privately held firm.

Symantec said that it will integrate Clearwell's products into its storage and archiving platform to bolster its archiving offerings.

The two firms believe that a combined offering will strengthen the Clearwell e-discovery platform and the Symantec Enterprise Vault offering.

"E-discovery is a prime market that fits directly with our overall mission," said Brian Dye, Symantec's information management group vice president of product management.

"Clearwell really brings us the entire breadth of e-discovery, and we can combine the best archiving product with the best e-discovery product."

Symantec's archiving platform is being positioned as the early partner for Clearwell's products, but the company has longer-term plans for integration in a number of additional businesses.

Dye told V3.co.uk that Clearwell's products will eventually integrate with Symantec's backup, data loss prevention and Data Insight analysis platforms.

The offerings will initially target the large enterprise space, but Dye believes that the e-discovery platform will expand to mid-size vendors in industries subject to legal actions and compliance standards.

"We think it is a pretty low threshold of lawsuit that you have to cross before e-discovery becomes compelling," he said.

Dye noted that the companies have been long-time partners, and that customers will see the fruits of the merger shortly after the deal has been finalised.