Arkeia Software
| Company type | Private |
|---|---|
| Industry | Software, Data backup |
| Founded | 1996 in France |
| Founder | Michel Gouget, Michel Colzi, Nordine Kherif, Arnaud Spicht, Phillippe Roussel |
| Fate | Acquired by Western Digital Corporation in January 2013; product discontinued in May 2015 |
| Headquarters | San Jose , United States |
| Products | Network backup software, Backup appliances |
| Parent | Western Digital Corporation (since 2013) |
Arkeia Software () is a U.S.-based software firm focused on delivering network backup solutions compatible with more than 200 platforms, such as Windows, Macintosh, Linux, AIX, BSD, and HP-UX. The company also provides a backup appliance that integrates its proprietary software with disk storage and network access. In January 2013, Arkeia Software was acquired by Western Digital Corporation. By May 2015, Western Digital declared the discontinuation of the Arkeia Network Backup product suite.
History
Established in 1996 in France under the name Knox Software by founders Michel Gouget, Michel Colzi, Nordine Kherif, Arnaud Spicht, along with Marketing Executive Phillippe Roussel, the enterprise was originally incorporated in San Jose, California. Following a $4 million Series A funding round in 2004 from SPEF Ventures (Banque Populaire) and Crédit Agricole Private Equity, the company re-incorporated in France. Subsequently, in 2007, the same investors contributed an additional $3 million through a Series B financing.
Backup software
Arkeia’s backup software has undergone multiple iterations. Its earlier solution, Smart Backup (2005–2007), merged previous products into a plugin-based framework priced according to data volume.
The current primary offering, Arkeia Network Backup software, has been well-received for its comprehensive Linux compatibility and features such as SAN backup support. In 2009, the company launched a VMware virtual machine system image edition and acquired intellectual property from Kadena Systems to incorporate source-based data deduplication technology. This deduplication employs a sliding window technique to detect redundant data byte-by-byte. Version 9.0 further improved deduplication by dynamically adjusting block sizes based on file type to maximize efficiency.
Arkeia mainly distributes its products through paid licensing but has provided limited free editions since 1998. The original complimentary version, Arkeia Light, was offered until 2003. Currently, the Arkeia Network Backup Free Use Edition is available for download on the company’s website. Additionally, in 2009, a free repository package for Ubuntu 8.04 LTS was released targeting small-scale networks.
Appliances
The firm’s backup appliance, initially branded as EdgeFort and now known as Arkeia Backup Appliance, was introduced in 2007 with several subsequent updates. This device allows backup administrators to remotely oversee backups at multiple distributed locations without transmitting data across the WAN. The EdgeFort 100 model received notable coverage in Storage Magazine during 2008.