Western Digital buys cloud storage company Upthere

In an effort to add a cloud component to its physical storage business, Western Digital has announced that it has acquired the cloud storage company Upthere.

Upthere was founded in 2011 and its app Upthere Home appeared on the App Store and Play Store in 2015. Since then, though, little has been heard from the company and it appears as if its app had a difficult time competing against the likes of Google, Apple and Microsoft in the cloud space.

Upthere will continue to operate on its own and Western Digital has yet to announce plans to integrate the company's cloud offerings with its physical backup drives. However, it will develop new features for its existing apps and also create new products.

According to Western Digital, the acquisition of Upthere "will enhance Western Digital's consumer products portfolio with new cloud-based offerings." While this statement is surprisingly vague, it could point to some form of integration further down the line.

It has become increasingly difficult for new players to make a name for themselves in the cloud business as Google, Microsoft and Amazon have continued to strengthen their own cloud offerings in recent years.

However, Western Digital is known worldwide and the company has a strong reputation when it comes to providing physical storage. Though a tie-in between its physical drives and the cloud could be just the thing to help it break into the space.

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