Can you squeeze 20 lbs of flour into a 10 lb bag? That’s what Storwize does and its does so without impacting performance. In fact Wikibon members have indicated that Storwize compression technology actually increases the performance of file-based storage. In one of the industry’s worst kept secrets, as reported by SiliconAngle and Reuters in mid June, IBM has announced a definitive agreement to acquire Israeli startup Storwize. IBM is not disclosing terms but sources indicate Big Blue paid perhaps as much as $140M for Storwize, an Isreali-based startup that has raised about $40M in venture capital from Sequoia Capital, Bessemer Venture Partners and other VCs. The deal will take about 30 days to close so Storwize should officially become part of IBM by the end of August.