HP acquires data software firm Stratavia

(Reuters) – Hewlett-Packard Co (HPQ.N) said on Thursday it would acquire Stratavia, a private company that makes software to manage databases and has applications in cloud computing.

Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.

HP said in a statement that Stratavia will make HP’s Software and Solutions portfolio stronger with its software that helps support the infrastructure of “cloud computer environments.”

Stratavia, based in Denver, also helps in database automation, which makes it easier for companies to maintain servers.

Aaron Rakers, a Stifel Nicolaus & Co analyst, said Stratavia’s database warehousing software can be applied to cloud computing, and that it’s comparable to what the publicly traded company Netezza Corp (NZ.N) does.

“It looks like it’s about database warehousing, and at the end of the day it’s probably an extremely small acquisition,” he said.

HP, with $125 billion in annual revenue and over 300,000 employees, is a serial acquirer that has diversified beyond computers in recent years. It is currently engaged in a bidding war with Dell Inc (DELL.O) for the data storage company 3PAR Inc (PAR.N).