RainStor

RainStor, initially established as Clearpace in the United Kingdom in 2002, emerged from a technology project within the UK's Ministry of Defence aimed at storing vast amounts of data for analysis. The company was founded by Tom Longshaw, Andrew Wright, Jonathan Teague, Keith Summers, and Gary Pratley. In 2009, the company rebranded as RainStor, a name derived from "relational archiving infrastructure storage," and moved its management office to San Francisco, while its research and development remained in the UK.

The company developed a specialized database management system designed for online data archiving and the analysis of large volumes of machine-generated data, particularly for regulatory compliance. RainStor's software ran on Apache Hadoop and featured a hybrid row/columnar repository that allowed data access via standard SQL. A key technical advantage was its powerful compression and deduplication capability, which could reduce data storage footprints by a factor of up to 40, significantly lowering costs for its clients. This made it feasible for organizations to analyze massive datasets, including "dark data" previously stored offline on tapes. The platform also included robust security features such as user authentication, access controls, and data encryption to protect against manipulation and breaches.

RainStor's business model focused on providing its database software to large enterprises, particularly in the telecommunications, financial services, and government sectors. By 2012, the company had secured over 100 clients. Its revenue was generated through software licensing. The company successfully raised significant venture capital, including a $7.5 million round in 2010 and a $12 million round in 2012, from investors such as Storm Ventures, Doughty Hanson Technology Ventures, Informatica, and Credit Suisse.

In a strategic move to bolster its big data analytics portfolio, Teradata acquired RainStor in December 2014. The acquisition included RainStor's assets, intellectual property, and the majority of its employees. Teradata planned to integrate RainStor's archiving technology into its Unified Data Architecture, allowing clients to query highly compressed archived data on Hadoop. However, in December 2016, Teradata removed RainStor from its portfolio, and the product is no longer developed or marketed.

Keywords: data archiving, big data management, database software, Hadoop, data compression, SQL access, deduplication, regulatory compliance, enterprise data storage, data retention, Teradata acquisition, Clearpace, structured data, information preservation, machine-generated data, financial services data, telecommunications data, government data, online data archive, data security