FAQ: Red Hat acquires NooBaa

Q. What is being announced?

On Nov. 27, 2018, Red Hat announced that it has acquired NooBaa.

Q. What is NooBaa?

NooBaa is a Tel Aviv, Israel-based early stage company developing software for managing data storage services across hybrid and multicloud environments. It has developed software which abstracts the underlying cloud storage infrastructure and provides a single interface for applications to interact with along with a range of data services, including tiering, migration or copying data between clouds.

Q. Why NooBaa?

Red Hat’s strategy is to provide the best platform to run applications across the hybrid cloud. Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform enables developers to build and run applications in a consistent way across multiple environments. The addition of NooBaa to the Red Hat portfolio enables us to manage the data in addition to the application while still providing a consistent experience for the developer. The acquisition of NooBaa reflects the critical role of data in Red Hat’s open hybrid cloud strategy.

Q. How does NooBaa differentiate itself?

NooBaa differentiates itself by not being reliant on any single storage environment, something that can be common with data services offered by other vendors. By using existing infrastructure, customers can enable a range of services without additional capital expenditure.

Q. How is NooBaa’s technology differentiated from and complementary to Red Hat’s current offerings?

NooBaa’s technology augments the existing storage products offered by Red Hat, including Red Hat Ceph Storage and Red Hat OpenShift Container Storage, by providing a range of data services that help bridge the public cloud providers and on-premise infrastructure. NooBaa’s technology also complements Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform by providing a consistent data management interface alongside the application runtime environment.

Q. Will Red Hat open source NooBaa's technology?

Red Hat has long shown its commitment to open-sourcing the technology it acquires, and we have no reason to expect a change in this approach. Our specific plans and timeline will be determined over the coming months.

Q. Where can I get more information on this news?

• Press release: Red Hat Acquires Hybrid Cloud Data Management Provider NooBaa
• Blog: From storage to data in the open hybrid cloud