Citrix announced today that it has completed the acquisition of storage virtualization expert Sanbolic. The company develops software-defined storage technologies to optimize the delivery of application-specific workloads, whther on Network Attached Storage (NAS), Storage Area Networks (SANs), server-side or in the cloud.

The acquisition enables Citrix to develop a range of solutions which should reduce the complexity of Windows application delivery and virtual desktop infrastructure (VDI) deployments.

Sanbolic allows deployments to be distributed across multiple locations and clouds and to scale in a linear and predictable manner. It provides simplified provisioning and management. The Sanbolic team will join the Citrix organization immediately. Other terms of the acquisition were not disclosed.

Sanbolic’s Melio software turns a set of servers’ direct-attached and network-attached storage into a virtual storage resource pool. Citrix will combine it with XenDesktop, XenApp and XenMobile products to develop a range of differentiated solutions to “improve the economics and reduce the complexity of Windows application delivery and VDI deployments.”

What Citrix gets for its money
Citrix says the deal “will enable a new range of solutions aimed at delivering best-in-class price, performance, experience, security and flexibility … this hyper-converged solution from Citrix will also allow customers to use their existing storage, networking and compute infrastructure, whether on premise or in the cloud.”

Sanbolic’s LaScala software provides storage volume management.Citrix also obtains Sanbolic intellectual property relating to clustering, file layout, locking algorithms, and transaction management. Sanbolic claims to define data management at the virtualised software layer, orchestrating enterprise storage resources, even globally distributed data stores, from one central high-level control centre.

The company was founded in 2000 in Boston by CEO Momchil (Memo) Michailov (above) and Eva Helen, president and COO. It is funded by individual investors with no disclosed venture capital funding rounds.