Microsoft has announced today that it will acquire Avere systems, a leading provider of high-performance NFS and SMB file-based storage. Avere Systems provides support for Linux and Windows clients running in the cloud, hybrid and on-premises environments.

Microsoft expects this acquisition to have a positive impact on its Azure Cloud offerings. The expertise provided by Avere systems will enable high-performance workloads to run in the Azure cloud.

By bringing together Avere’s storage expertise with the power of Microsoft’s cloud, customers will benefit from industry-leading innovations that enable the largest, most complex high-performance workloads to run in Microsoft Azure. We are excited to welcome Avere to Microsoft, and look forward to the impact their technology and the team will have on Azure and the customer experience.

Avere has to its credit clients like Sony Pictures.

Avere has worked with global brands including Sony Pictures Imageworks, animation studio Illumination Mac Guff and Moving Picture Company (MPC) to decrease production time and lower costs in a world where innovation and time to market is more critical than ever.

Read the full press release here.