Acquisition of Updare, a leading cloud service provider offering data management solutions
Expect a more robust client solution portfolio by securing cloud expertise and personnel.

Western Digital announced that it has completed the acquisition of Upthere, a leader in cloud services. Through this acquisition, Western Digital plans to strengthen its consumer product portfolio by securing Upthere's cloud expertise and talent.

Updare, acquired by Western Digital, is an industry-leading cloud service company that has been providing solutions for storing, searching, and sharing data more efficiently. In particular, it offers an efficient single storage solution that integrates and stores vast amounts of diverse data, such as photos, music, videos, and documents, all on a single storage device. With support for universal applications usable on iPhone, iPad, and Android devices, as well as Mac OS and Windows PC environments, users can manage data more conveniently.

The cloud technology and expertise from Updare secured through this acquisition are set to join Western Digital's Client Solutions business unit, which is expected to further strengthen Western Digital's cloud-based portfolio for its consumer product line.

Jim Welsh, Senior Vice President and General Manager of Western Digital’s Client Solutions Business, stated, “Updare, with its corporate mission of transforming the personal storage market, aligns with Western Digital’s corporate goal of improving customer data management in a more convenient and efficient way. The addition of Chris Bourdon, CEO of Updare and a strategic leader with outstanding expertise in software, will help accelerate improvements in user experience and cloud service requirements across all areas of Western Digital’s Client Solutions Business.”

Chris Bourdon, CEO of Updare, who has joined Western Digital, stated, “Western Digital and Updare have maintained a strong partnership for a long time and have contributed together to significantly improving the user experience through cloud-based solutions. We will continue to innovate cloud-based services that have the potential to revolutionize the way consumers generate, manage, and store data.”

Western Digital's Digital Cloud Services business unit is headed by Barbara Nelson, who previously served as Vice President and General Manager at the cloud security firm IronKey.Barbara Nelson is set to lead the company. She recently joined Western Digital and has achieved successful business results, including generating over $100 million in revenue from four individual projects during her two previous roles as startup CEO.