IBM added to its data protection portfolio today by acquiring Arsenal Digital Solutions, which provides services for server and PC data protection, backup and recovery, business continuity, disaster recovery, and regulatory compliance.

IBM announced it would acquire the North Carolina-based company and said the deal is expected to close in the first quarter of 2008. Financial terms were not disclosed.

“Arsenal brings unique capabilities in the online data protection market, complementing IBM Tivoli's flagship data-protection offerings and IBM System Storage solutions,” IBM stated in a press release. IBM said it will make Arsenal services available worldwide through Big Blue’s Business Continuity and Resiliency Services division.

Arsenal offers an online storage-backup managed service, and handles more than 20 petabytes of customer data at 67 data centers on five continents.