EMC may be set to close a US$76 million purchase of the Mozy online backup product from Berkeley Data Systems, according to a report on the TechCrunch blog.
The acquisition would give EMC a foothold in the fast-growing online backup arena, which has been fuelled by laptop and desktop user demands to easily store personal and business data on a hosted service for a low monthly fee.
Staff at EMC and Berkeley Data declined to comment. The acquisition could be completed within a few weeks, according to published reports.
The hosted Mozy service targets PC users, but a version of the service for Mac users is expected by the end of this year -- despite some complaints from early beta testers.
The Mozy unlimited storage backup service enables secure backup of files, photos, music and other personal data from hard drives. Complete restores of any lost data are possible from Mozy's hosted servers.
The MozyPro service costs US$4.95 per month. The Mac version, called MacMozy, was expected to carry the same price tag.
In 2004, EMC entered the desktop backup business with its acquisition of Dantz Development for US$50 million.