IBM further boosted its storage credentials today by announcing the acquisition of Diligent Technologies, a firm which specialises in storage de-duplication technology.

Diligent's in-line data de-duplication technology offerings are designed to help organisations improve efficiencies and reduce the cost of datacentre storage, at a time when the complexity of datacentre management is at unprecedented levels, according to IBM.

“Diligent’s data de-duplication software is a critical technology that will be integrated into the IBM Storage portfolio to further extend our information infrastructure strategy, allowing our clients to eliminate redundant data and streamline the infrastructure required to support their business – which can result in dramatic improvements in datacentre efficiency,” said Andy Monshaw, general manager of IBM System Storage, in a statement.

Together with Diligent's technology, IBM said it will be able to offer solutions that can help to reduce the amount of physical storage firms need, thus reducing costs and energy consumption, and reduce the time taken to back up and recover information.

The acquisition follows hot on the heels of IBM's purchase of storage firms XIV and FilesX in the last few months.