NetApp acquires Canberra’s Instaclustr

US cloud storage giant NetApp has its eyes on an open-source data management spawned out of the Australian National University.

NetApp announced the deal Friday morning, describing Instaclustr as “leading platform provider of fully managed open-source database, pipeline and workflow applications delivered as a service”.

NetApp says it will bring Instaclustr into the cluster of other buys it’s made: Spot, CloudCheckr, Data Mechanics, and Fylamynt. 

As a result of its acquisitions, NetApp said, its Spot by NetApp has become a single- and multi-cloud service offering continuous optimisation, automation, monitoring and security, and open source application deployment and operation.

Instaclustr founder and CEO Peter Lilley said his company’s growth “has been driven by the fact that companies want to leverage open-source databases, pipelines, and workflow applications without overwhelming themselves with the complexity and cost of managing and operating them”.

“Instaclustr delivers fully managed open-source solutions that give companies increased productivity and reduced cost”, Lilley said.

“Instaclustr’s growth has been driven by the fact that companies want to leverage open-source databases, pipelines, and workflow applications without overwhelming themselves with the complexity and cost of managing and operating them."

NetApp’s Anthony Lye, general manager for public cloud services, said: “The acquisition marks a critical advancement in our strategy to run application driven platforms and infrastructures.”

Instaclustr company was created in a shared innovation space on the ANU campus in 2013 and now employs more than 300 people and is one of Canberra’s largest tech firms. ANU Connect Ventures invested more than $8 million in the company the following year.