In the latest of a long line of data and storage-related buys, IBM said Friday it has acquired Diligent Technologies for an undisclosed sum.

Diligent, which has offices in Framingham, Massachusetts, and Tel Aviv, is known for its de-duplication technology, a technique for saving storage space by eliminating redundant data, such as multiple copies of the same email attachment within an email archive. The company's ProtecTIER product employs an in-line de-duplication engine that does the work as data is brought into a system, not after the fact, which saves time, according to Diligent's website.

Diligent's technologies and its workers will be brought under IBM's system storage business unit within the systems and technology group.

One observer questioned whether the Diligent deal could hurt players such as Hitachi Data Systems, given that it has been reselling ProtecTIER.

"Now that the IBM acquisition of Diligent Technology appears to be all but a done deal, where does that leave HDS and their customers, as HDS is now left without a viable de-duplication technology in one of the hottest sectors in data storage?" wrote Jerome Wendt, president and lead analyst of DCIG Inc., a consulting firm, on his .

The buy marks the third storage-related grab by IBM in just the past few months, following its moves to acquire XIV and FilesX. IBM, which posted strong second-quarter earnings on Wednesday, said the Diligent deal is also part of its planned earnings-per-share growth strategy.

De-duplication is seen as a hot trend within the storage space. The 451 Group last year the market sector could grow to $US1 billion by 2009. The space includes a range of independents such as ExaGrid, along with major vendors like Symantec.

Oracle also features the capability in its flagship 11g database, and Sun Microsystems recently made a de-duplication as well.