Symantec buys online backup vendor SwapDrive

Symantec this month acquired online file backup and recovery vendor SwapDrive, in a move similar to EMC's acquisition of online backup provider Mozy last September. (Compare storage products.)

"SwapDrive's market-leading solutions complement Symantec's Norton consumer portfolio and strategy, by providing data backup and management solutions to help customers work and play freely - with confidence - in a connected world," Symantec says in a statement on its Web site. 

Symantec did not reveal terms of the acquisition. EMC's $76 million acquisition of Mozy allowed EMC to unveil its first software-as-a-service storage application last January. (Watch a slideshow of the hottest tech M&As.)

Symantec also gains SwapDrive companies Backup.com, a data protection service, and WhaleMail, which lets users send files of any size over the Web.

SwapDrive was founded in 1998 and says it offers Web-based storage with strong authentication, encryption and firewall technologies ensuring data safety. Redundant storage protects against data loss, the company says.

"Each file stored is copied on Telco-grade disk drive systems and then backed up again, making data loss virtually impossible," SwapDrive advertises.