Microsoft buys online storage service StorSimple

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Microsoft buys online storage service StorSimple

REDMOND, Wash. (AP) - Microsoft has bought online storage service StorSimple as part of its effort to adapt to shifting technology trends.

The deal gives Microsoft another tool to offer to corporate customers who want to back up their data on computers managed and maintained in remote data centers. The concept, known as "cloud computing," enables workers to retrieve key information wherever they might be, as long as they have an Internet-connected device.

Microsoft Corp., which is based in Redmond, Wash., and other long-established technology companies such as Oracle Corp. have been snapping up smaller cloud-computing specialists during the past two years in an attempt to keep up with the times.

Financial terms of Microsoft's latest acquisition weren't revealed.

StorSimple, which is based in Mountain View, Calif., had raised more than $31 million from venture capitalists since it was founded three years ago by former executives for Cisco Systems Inc. and Brocade Communications Systems Inc.

Although StorSimple already was a Microsoft partner, some analysts had thought it might be bought by data storage provider EMC Corp.

Copyright 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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