Lenovo has moved to strengthen its cloud computing capabilities and ‘PC Plus’ strategy after the Chinese tech firm announced a deal to buy US-based Stoneware, completing its first ever software acquisition.
Lenovo says that Stonefish will help develop its cloud computing prowess to give both commercial and consumer customers more options to store, share and save content and files across multiple devices. The company sees particular value in the education and government spaces, where Stonefish products have seen the most traction.
The US company’s flagship service, software platform webNetwork, hosts cloud networks for organizations. The company is said to serve “millions of users”, primarily in the education and the public sector fields.
This year has seen Lenovo rise to become the world’s second largest computer maker, and it is aiming to leverage that visibility and presence to continue Stoneware’s work and develop the consumer-facing side of its business and products.
“Adding Stoneware cloud computing into the Lenovo line up presents a significant opportunity to leverage their success, and enhance our PC+ offerings, all to the benefit of our customers,” Peter Hortensius, senior VP and president of Lenovo’s product group, said in a statement.
Financial details of the deal were not revealed, but Lenovo said that it will not affect its earnings.
The acquisition will see all 67 employees from Stoneware’s offices in Indiana and Utah join the computing giant over the next few weeks. The deal is expected to go through by the end of 2012 and Stoneware will continue to operate its products and service existing customers under Lenovo’s management.
Lenovo snapped up Brazilian electronics firm CCE in a $148 million deal earlier this month, as part of a focus on new, emerging markets to stimulate sales following a recent growth slump.
Image via Flickr / Masatsu