AOL buys Xdrive to boost care of digital assets

Aug 05, 2005: American Online has bought Xdrive, which manages an online, a provider of online storage and backup services, to enhance the current service it offers for protecting digital assets.

Xdrive manages an online, centralised storage platform that gives subscribers access to, and protection of, all their digital assets, regardless of location used to access the Internet.

This includes providing its subscribers with storage safety and security and automatic backup of a wide variety of digital assets, such as music, pictures and video.

Gio Hunt, the senior vice president of new business ventures at AOL digital services, said that Xdrive would further enhance AOL's consumer storage offerings to deliver a more safe and secure digital lifestyle for its members.

"The digitisation of consumer home media is skyrocketing, with consumers and AOL members increasingly looking for easier ways to protect and manage wide variety of important data files and digital media assets."

Brett O'Brien, the CEO & founder of Xdrive, added that its mission has always been to help manage, integrate, and protect consumers' digital assets and enable anytime, anywhere access to files, from any Internet connection.

"This is a great marriage of Xdrive's cutting-edge storage technology with the massive infrastructure, network redundancy and exceptional safety and security reputation of AOL."

Xdrive is AOL's first major corporate acquisition since Mailblocks, Inc. and Advertising.com in 2004.

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