Cloud file storage company
Box announced yesterday that it is acquiring file streaming startup Streem for an undisclosed sum. The technology behind the cloud-to-desktop streaming service will be integrated into Box's cloud offerings. Streem's four-person team will fold into the Box team to work on content management solutions for enterprise.
Streem, which was founded in 2012, offers three different technologies to bring cloud storage to the desktop with streaming files. The main feature of the company is the StreemFS, which allows users to access cloud-stored files on the desktop. The technology allows the cloud to act like an additional hard drive without requiring local copies. The team also developed streaming and buffering technology that allows videos to play as fast as they would locally. Video is also improved with an on-the-fly transcoder Streem developed. The company was able to obtain $875,000 in funding in April to develop Streem Drive.
The streaming company
confirmed that the three pieces of technology would find their way into Box's offering on their website.
"Today, we're happy to announce that all three of our core technologies will be incorporated into Box! Box has the best-in-class enterprise solution for content management and collaboration in the cloud, spanning 25 million users across 225,000 organizations," said the company. "It was clear after our first meeting with them that our visions for the future of cloud content were aligned. With our technology, we'll be able to provide businesses and teams with instant access to large volumes of data and faster ways to view their media content -- all without filling up their hard drives."
Box stated that it doesn't have a timeline for the incorporation of Streem technology into the service, but the company will be working to make it happen quickly. However, it does appear that bolstering offerings for enterprise customers was Box's biggest goal in the acquisition. Streem's technology will help data-intensive customers access data quicker without having to worry about delays or internal storage security.
"For customers across data-intensive industries like media and entertainment, oil and gas, healthcare and manufacturing, this means instant access to far larger volumes of data than what your local drives can support," said Box CEO Aaron Levie. "For enterprises in regulated industries like life sciences and financial services, it means better protection and control of information and where it lives."
As part of acquisition, Streem will shutter its service. The company said that it would be working to migrate current customers over to Box. For those that don't wish to transfer to the new service, Streem would offer a zip file of original files to those that request it.
No mention of a purchase price was eluded to in either release from the companies. However, Box noted in an email to
TechCrunch that it would be a stock and cash transaction.
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